Acceleration
by Rose Eclipse
Summary: His name is Speedy. He is the Agile Archer, Green Arrow's former sidekick, and Robin's trustworthy friend. This is his side of the Titan's story, seen through the eyes of another mask.
1. Aiming High

Not just simply gorgeous. Jaw-dropping-eye-popping-knee-shaking gorgeous.

_And she's looking at you right now._

Blue water was lapping at those fine long legs that seemed to stretch on forever. Her skin was a creamy coffee-colored tone. Full pouting pink lips and big glossy eyes rounded her out. That beautiful creature was too good to be true.

"Why don't you come down here, stud?" she asked him in a low fluid voice, gesturing to a generous spot near the ocean's waters.

Without a word, he casually slid the quiver of arrows off his back and eased himself onto the sandy bank next to her. "This close enough for you?" he asked.

She nodded in approval. A hand smoothly curled around the nape of his neck, pulling his head closer to hers. The fragrance of jasmine engulfed him in clouds of passion.

"Why don't you take that mask off?" she asked him in his face.

The red headed young man gave an innocent shrug. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not". She chuckled softly and leaned closer. He could already taste her tantalizing lips on his mouth...

Just a little more. . .a little...

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

Speedy bolted up in bed. Ocean waters dried up, sand drifted away, and the Miss Beautiful of his dreams had vanished. He realized that the noise that had woken him up was the the ear-piercing scream was coming from down the corridor of Titans East.

_"WAAAAAGGGH!"_ came the sound again. Correction: Two children, and they are hollering at the top of their lungs.

"All right, all right!" Speedy moaned The young man threw back the covers and forced his bare feet onto the cold floor. He pulled on a cotton shirt over his wife beater. Sleepily, he shuffled down the hallway. Not even bothering to turn on a light, Speedy blinked in the darkness and his foot stepped painfully on a set of Leggos that remained haphazardly on the floor.

Cursing between his teeth, he grabbed his sore foot with one hand and gripped the doorknob with the other hand. Mas was as the top of the bunk bed and bawling as tears ran down his face. Menos, on the bottom bunk, was hugging his blanket to his chest and crying just as loud.

"¡_El doctor, no me lastima!"_ Mas babbled._"Agujas!__ No! ¡No más de agujas! _

Speedy rushed to the bed and gripped the boy gently by the arm. "Hey, it's okay. You're awake now. Safe." Mas blinked his eyes and looked at Speedy. He had stopped crying but was still gasping for breath.

"_Los doctores nos lastimaban. D_-d-doctors. . we were hurt_," _Menos stuttered awkwardly. "Hurt with n-n-needles".

"_Si, si. _Needles. S_angre."_ Mas added. "_Sangrábamos_. _Nos asustaron_ Hurt us all over, all over _sangre_."

Speedy sighed and rubbed his heavy eyelids. The two trouble makers just had a bad nightmare. And the sooner they'd calm down, the sooner he's get back to sleep.

"No, there's no _agujas_ here," Speedy said. "_Usted es_ . .. ah .." he fumbled for the right words. "S_eguro ahora_", he finished.

"_Usted es seguro adentro_ Steel City._" _he repeated. "With your _Amigo _Speedy. Safe."

"S-safe," Menos repeated, nodding his head. They could understand Speedy pretty well, even if he was still grappling with Spanish.

Mas threw his arms around Speedy's neck and squeezed so tightly that he nearly felt his circulation getting cut off.

"Safe_," _he said a small shaking voice. _"_Safe with our _Amigo _T-t-Titan,_" _he stumbled on the last word.

"I'm not so safe when I'm mad," he muttered under his breath.

They must have not heard him or chosen to ignore him because Menos was also clinging to Speedy, hugging him by the ankles. The archer wobbled for a moment, hoping that he wouldn't fall flat on his face.

"Shhhh, it's all right," he said aloud, forcing down the urge to pry them off his body. He patted Menos on the head and ran a hand through Mas's red hair. The small boy released the throat crushing grip on Speedy and looked at him in the face. His scared expression quickly turned to one of eagerness.

"¿_Podemos dormir con usted?" _he asked with a small smile, pointing to Speedy's chest, then back at his. Speedy twitched, not knowing precisely what he was saying. Something about sleeping with someone . . .

"Sleep," Menos said. "_Dormis con Amigo _Speedy."

Bingo.

Menos noticed the archer's face twist into an uncomfortable look of utter annoyance and anger at his request to let the two boys to sleep with the teenager.

Immediately, Menos' mouth turned downward and he began to groan, preparing to burst out into tears again.

"All right! All right!" Speedy shouted. "You can sleep with me tonight. But just for tonight," he added, shaking a finger in their faces.

"YAAAAAH!" Mas and Menos squealed out loud.

_Four minutes later:_

As much as Speedy wanted to get back to his dreams of beautiful women he had a rule before lights out: no one goes to bed with breath that reeks of leftover pizza.

Speedy squirted some watermelon flavored toothpaste on the brush and motioned for Mas to open his mouth. Mas wrinkled his nose at the goopy green stuff.

"Go on, you'll like it," Speedy coaxed him. "It's watermelon. _Sandia_"

Mas reluctantly opened his mouth but his eyes popped open when Speedy started to brush his teeth,

"_Mmmmm, delicioso," _he said. The boy grabbed the toothpaste bottle at once.

"No no no!" Speedy yelled. Too late. Mas had squirted some toothpaste into his mouth, giggling and licking his lips. Immediately, Menos had the rival at hand and snatched the toothpaste, squeezing some onto his tongue at well.

"Give me that," Speedy ordered. He grabbed the toothpaste from the twins and stashed it up on the highest shelf possible. "You two are _es epugnante. _You got that? Just disgusting."

They both just licked their lips of the green toothpaste and giggled. At least they had stopped crying.

"_Lexcorp wanted a study in human acceleration using artificial drugs and surgical procedures," Bumblebee explained to Aqualad and Speedy.__"But the government wouldn't give Lexcorp approval so the company scientists set up their laboratories south of the border."_

"_Like Guatemala?" Aqualad asked._

"_Yes. They could operate in the desert without having the law breathing down their necks. Luthor funded the plans with his own pockets."_

"_What about the test subjects?" _

_Bumblebee pursed up her lips for a moment and she glowered._

"_They weren't interested in using animals at all. So they used children."_

_She watched the boys' mouths fall open in alarm. "They just **took** kids? From where?" Speedy blurted out. _

"_From the orphanages, the slums, the streets. Wherever they wouldn't be missed." _

_Bumblebee pressed a button and an image of two children sitting in metal chairs appeared. Speedy felt a cold clammy feeling in his chest as he realized they were none other than Mas and Menos. But dressed in gray uniforms and with their hands clamped onto the chairs with metal bands, they looked trapped and scared._

"_Miguel and Mario Domingo. They were living inside of a broken run down car when some of the scientists found them. It was almost too easy for Lexcorp to drug them and bring them to the lab. At first the twins __didn't react to the drugs injected into them. Not until the scientists realized that some kind of magnetic field had to be channeled through them and physical contact would keep the twins constantly charged with energy."_

_"I had no idea how cruel the land-dwellers could be," Aqualad growled._

_Speedy tried to defend the accusation. _"_Not everyone on earth is like that," he insisted._

"_He's right, Aqua," Bumblebee said with her hands on her hips. "The Justice League found the laboratory and arrested everyone who worked for Lexcorp. They tore the entire place apart. But Miguel and Mario knew couldn't go back to ordinary lives again so the League sent them here."_

_The three of them glanced out of the window where Mas and Menos were racing around the training room at top speed, laughing away without a care in the world._

"_I've got a letter of recommendation from Wonder Woman asking if we'd take care of them," Bumblebee concluded, waving a paper in the air. _

_Speedy glanced again at the two red haired boys who were now tossing a basketball in the air. "And I thought the little monsters were always so happy-go-lucky all the time."_

_Bumblebee looked concerned. _"_They're not as happy as you think they are. Those kids saw a lot of terrible things in the lab. Bad memories always stuck in their minds. So we've got to give them as much love and attention as they need"._

Speedy finished tucking Mas and Menos into his bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and dimmed the lights. Twin pairs of shining eyes looked back at him with gratitude. Suddenly, they sprinted out from under the covers and Speedy was caught off guard by another bone crushing hug.

"_Gracias, Senior Speedy," _came a small voice from the face buried close to his chest.

"_Si, si. Gracias mucho, Amigo."_

"You're welcome," he said, managing a grin and ruffling their hair. "Now go to sleep. _Dormir!" _he ordered them.

They both nodded and lay back, fake snores blaring loudly in the room. Speedy rolled his eyes and got off the bed. Adjusting the light ever so slightly, he walked out of the room and slowly closed the door.

So much had happened in such a short time. Not more than a year ago, he was Speedy, the guy who whizzed around without a care in the world. He sure loved fast things: fast cars, fast games, and fast women.

And now he was thrust into a ring and had to pool his energy in with everyone else. No more ditching the gang and playing hooky. You stuck with the team through everything, no matter how crazy life got.

The League teaches you how to fight and the Society teaches you how to protect yourself. But the Titans teach you to how to be a famil whether you like it or not.

Speedy realized he didn't feel so tired anymore. He went into the bathroom and changed into his uniform. After adjusting the mask on his face, he got his bow and arrows from the training room. Then he headed into the garage where a newly-made motorbike sat waiting for him.

"Rob's got the R-bike," Cyborg had said to Speedy. "I figured you'd want some wheels to get around as well."

Speedy didn't want to push his luck when Cyborg had offered to build him a motorbike. But he wound up with a mouthful of drool when his fellow Titan rolled out the newly-crafted Comet from the garage. That was the name of his new sweetheart, all silver chrome and smooth on the road.

Speedy threw a leg over the side of the Comet. He placed the helmet over his head and flicked down the visor. A sputter of fumes coughed out and a rumbling sound of anticipation was heard from the motor. The Comet wasn't the R-bike but this was his set of wheels to take him wherever he wanted.

The Comet out of the room and roared down the highway. Steel City streets were nearly empty of cars at this late hour of the night. Line after line of harsh white lights flickered past Speedy. Icy wind nipped against his bare arms. But he liked the cold air. It made him attentive and kept him awake. He liked these silent streets with endless miles of asphalt to travel. And he needed some time to be alone.

Funny how at first everyone thought he was "Robin's Clone". That's it, he's doesn't have a name. He's just "Robin Number Two". The doppelganger. The other one.

All it takes is a game or two to set the record straight.

A-A-A

_One year ago:_

He had just been chasing a jewel robber when Speedy saw a flash of light and felt his body get sucked into a swirling vortex of power. He shouted, thinking that it must have been some kind of a hurricane or a tornado. But the spinning around him stopped as suddenly as it started and his feet touched the ground.

Blinking and trying to recall what just happened, he realized that he was in a giant room with polished floors and a high ceiling. Several other people were there: a giant beast-looking animal, a young man that looked half robot, and a funny little kid with green skin just to name a few.

"The Tournament of Heroes!" boomed a loud voice over their heads. Speedy realized that everyone looked just as confused and surprised as him at what was going on.

"A friendly competition between the world's greatest young champions!" the voice announced.

One by one, the names of the contestants were mentioned along with their abilities:

"Robin! The one man Kung Fu trained one man army," the Master of Games announced. On the screen, a giant image of Robin was seen. Speedy's eyes grew wide behind his mask.

Robin . . . as in, "Boy Wonder" and sidekick to Batman? Green Arrow had said something about Robin ditching Gotham City and doing other things. Speedy thought he had gone solo, but the crime rates in Jump City had cut down lately. Obviously, Robin had been keeping himself busy.

He felt a nagging tone in his ribs as the image of Robin on the screen flipped in midair and spun a powerful kick. Speedy was pretty good at self-defense but Robin had trained under the very best. People were scared as hell of the Batman. They said he ate demons for breakfast and had their heads to decorate his hideout. Was the Boy Wonder just as much as a psychopath?

The other names of the contestants also made him suspicious: Hot Spot, the human flame thrower. Wildebeest, the monster of a lifetime. Gizmo, a nasty little genius with a set of mechanical wings. The half robot was Cyborg and the green little kid was really a changeling named Beast Boy. Aqualad he knew about from Ollie. A pretty faced swim-team boy that drove the ladies nuts.

Heck, these supernatural superheroes were going to give him a run for the money.

"And Speedy, the agile archer with an unstoppable arsenal of energy arrows," the Master of Games concluded. He couldn't resist a large grin. From the way the Master of Games made it sound, he was just as gung ho and knuckle fisted about this tournament as the others.

Speedy regained his confidence at once to see his own image appear on the screen. The other contestants looked with amazement as the image pulled out an arrow and with a look of fierce determination on his face, aimed for the target and unleashed a perfect attack. Maybe this was going to be some fun as well. . .

A mummer of talking came from them all, deciding what to do. Robin faced the Master of Games and said, "Looks like we're in. All of us."

The Master of Games vanished, leaving everyone to prepare for the fun ahead. Speedy's eyes scanned the room quickly. Beast Boy had slapped high fives and was talking to Aqualad. Judging by the grins on their faces, they were also looking forward to a friendly competition. Cyborg was glaring down at Gizmo who was smiling with sharp white teeth back at the rival.

Then Speedy looked right at Robin. They starred at each other. Then they circled each other cautiously. Speedy realized he was about an inch taller than Robin. And the "one-man-army" wore traffic-light colors compared to Speedy's muted tones. _How does he stand green tights? What's with the cape?_

Suddenly, Robin broke the tension and stuck out a green gloved hand.

"Speedy, I heard you're good. Real good," he said with a grin. Judging from his voice, it was obvious he was trying to be friendly and not a suck up. Speedy accepted his hand in a firm handshake.

"Robin. Likewise," he smiled back. "Great to finally meet you."

"So, what are those arrows made of?" Robin asked, pointing to his quiver.

Speedy proudly pulled out an arrow and Robin gazed eagerly, his face showing a mixture of delight and fascination.

"Polarized matrices of high energy electrons," he said proudly. At once, the ice had been broken and the two of them launched into an animated talk about combat attacks.

"Right. Same technology packs the punch in my electric discs," Robin said, taking out small silver discuss. "How do you overcome the quantum-entanglement problem?"

Speedy began to talk about the entanglement problem by predicting the amount of time to accelerate the charge, but his words were broken off by a voice: "Dude, never knew Robin had a clone."

Speedy noticed that the green changeling was looking at him along with Cyborg. Robin laughed and gestured for them to come over.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Speedy. Speedy, these are my friends, the Teen Titans. This is Cyborg and Beast Boy."

"The Teen Titans?" Speedy asked keenly. "So the League was right. You really _have _flown out of Gotham's nest."

Robin bristled a little from his comment and shrugged. "Its time to take action for myself. What about you? Still hanging around Green Arrow?"

It was Speedy's turn to get ticked off. The Emerald Archer was a great teacher, but Speedy wasn't the good little Boy Scout to stay at home. "Nah, I'm just doing my own thing in Star City."

"Maybe you should come down to Jump sometime," Cyborg offered him. "We've got a lot of room for chilling out and could always use another person to play _Starkiller Scream."_

"Yeah! And we've got a fridge full of tofu," Beast Boy added. Speedy resisted a laugh. He could tell from Robin's face that at least the leader took the crime fighting team very seriously.

The discussion was cut off by an announcement from the Master of Games. Speedy found himself in a giant blue sea full of columns. He began sprinting from pillar to pillar while Aqualad swam underneath him.

As much as he wanted to take down Robin, Speedy was more than content to pair up against Aqualad. Beast Boy had mentioned beforehand his slight hatred/envy of the black haired boy. Speedy knew too well about other guys that seemed to steal the spotlight.

It was a lot of fun and a lot of ass whooping as well. Tuna Boy was swimming under the water but his shadow made an easy target for Speedy. When he thought Aqualad was capsized, he sat down and began laughing, hooting and cheering for victory.

His joy was short-lived as the waters swirled up and Aqualad delivered a powerful punch across Speedy's fist. He was sure that his jaw had been broken, but it was easy to get up and try again. Aqualad was smirking at him so Speedy just wiped his mouth and grinned back wickedly. So Tuna Boy wanted a tough fight? Then Speedy wasn't going to back down at all. The right arrows and the right vision did the trick. It was over in a matter of minutes: his perfect aim shot the sub-zero arrows into the water, freezing Aqualad into place.

He had won! This was great, just great. Only three other contestants had won as well: Robin being one of them.

A-A-A

He had yet to discover that Robin was indeed, very different from himself. Speedy liked a good competition every now and then. Winning was fun. It was an energy-booster and impressed the ladies. But Robin was taking this seriously. Maybe even _too_ seriously.

"May the best man win," he said to Robin with thumbs up.

"I intend to," Robin shot back. To him, this wasn't a game. It was war and you played to win until you were the last man standing.

Speedy realized this as he was against Robin in the final round. The bo staff slammed against Speedy's bow and the masked boys found themselves face to face. The tension between them began to grow and they pressed harder against each other.

"Its just as friendly competition, isn't it?" Speedy said, grinning weakly as sweat poured down his face. But Robin looked just as serious as if they were two soldiers in battle, standing on opposite sides.

"Yeah, should be fun," he said in a sarcastic tone. He pushed harder and Speedy felt his boot heels grind against the dirt, driving him back an inch.

"Right. 'Cause winning isn't _everything_," he chided Robin.

"It's the only thing that matters!" Robin shouted, flipping his body into a superb martial arts twist. Speedy switched to defense and kept getting blocked with the bo staff. If only he had a split second, he'd get ready to fire at Robin again. But the Boy Wonder had learned under the best. It was his stamina against Speedy's quick reflexes.

And in the long run, Robin was going to win. Because nothing else mattered to him.

It didn't bother Speedy that much when Robin broke his bow and the red headed teenager had lost. What disturbed him was Robin's smug look as his gazed down at the loser, a look of triumph accompanied by a somewhat evil smirk on his face.

"You lose," he said, raising his staff at Speedy.

_Bats must have taught him too hard._

"Was it worth it?" he asked Robin with a disappointed look on his face.

His words must have had an effect on Robin because the smirk vanished and he looked somewhat disturbed from Speedy's criticism.

A-A-A

In the end, Speedy had to admit that it was a good thing Robin had been acting like a jerk. Only such a hyperactive drive to win really saved them all from the Master of Games. Plus, he was able to get a taste of the Titans' strategies. As much as he liked fighting on his own, the teamwork was really something remarkable. Cyborg blasted forward as Robin shoved Speedy out of the way from a wave of flames.

_Capes really do come in handy,_ he thought to himself as Robin threw his yellow cape over them and the fire washed over their bodies. Both teenagers stood up, unscathed and protected. Robin glanced at Speedy. "Can you aim for that jewel?" he asked, pointing to the necklace.

Speedy pulled out an arrow and fitted it quickly. "I can do better than that."

Nodding at Robin, the young man watched the Boy Wonder charge forth and leap into the air. Speedy's eyes scanned past the dodging flames and following Robin, he managed to release a flaming arrow.

Robin leapt into the air and drove his booted forward, grinding the arrow into the Master of Games' medallion. The sore loser roared and fell back, allowing the other trapped contestants to be freed.

It wasn't over, though. It was only the beginning.

"Here, you deserve this," Robin said, pressing something into Speedy's hand. He looked down to see an amazing looking circular device in his palm. A white T set against a shining black metal lid and encircled with a gold band looked up at him.

"It's a Teen Titan communicator. So from now on, you're an honorary Titan," Robin said to him. Speedy's hand gripped the communicator tightly. Winning Robin's approval, or at least his trust, had actually saved all of their lives. Speedy knew that he wouldn't trade it this prize for a room full of trophies or medals.

"Sorry I acted like a jerk," Robin added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Speedy had done the same simultaneously. They both cracked a laugh and shook hands.

"Well, we both did. But really, it was your guts to win that saved us," Speedy added.

"I didn't do it to win. I did it for my friends," Robin said seriously. The two of them glanced at each other. Once just sidekick boys out for the thrill, now two young men waiting to face a world with all the power they had. Maybe Robin wasn't such a neurotic perfectionist after all.

Maybe he and Robin weren't so different after all. And if this Kung Fu Kid could start his own team . . . maybe Speedy would have a lot more fun hanging out with him.

"So, we're friends?" he asked.

"Definitely," Robin grinned back at Speedy.


	2. Back on Target

They talked nonstop all the way back to the Tower. Speedy was starting to get the hang of Robin: they both liked motorcycles and the color red. They both had a thing for cheeseburgers and the best video games in town. And they both enjoyed butt-kicking action anytime.

Not to mention a thing about overhanging mentors. Robin shrugged off when Speedy asked him again about Batman, but it looked like he was more interested in filling in the role as a team leader than dwelling on past sidekick stuff.

"Woah," was all Speedy could manage to say when the shining doors opened and he stepped inside Titans Tower. This place was the slickest hangout he could've ever imagined. A giant screen monitor was in front of the couch from where Beast Boy and Cyborg were fiddling away at their video controllers.

Sparkling blue waters and the dazzling scene of Jump City made for a great view when starring out at the main room window. It made you feel like every inch a Titan.

"You've got to meet the rest of the team," Robin offered. Speedy couldn't resist the inner delight of getting to know the ladies of the Titans. Each girl he met had a distinct attitude and kind of sweetness...almost like ice cream.

"That's Raven, but we shouldn't bother her now," Robin said, pointing to a figure in dark blue robes in the corner. The girl barely lifted her head from her book revealing two dark amethyst eyes that gleamed keenly from the shadows of her hood. Speedy nodded and decided to leave her at that.

_So she's bittersweet chocolate. Lingering, mysterious, and dark. Well, I'm not going to push her buttons the wrong way._

"This is the newest member of the team, Terra," Robin introduced next. Speedy smiled at the unusually thin and gangly girl who was eating pizza in the kitchen. A pair of blue vision goggles sat atop of her blonde hair and she sported a black shirt bearing a yellow T inside of a circle.

"Terra, meet Speedy. He's a new honorary Titan."

The blonde girl wiped her mouth quickly, jumped off the counter, and shook his hand with one of her own brown gloved ones.

"Totally cool to meet you, Speedy!" she said cheerfully. "Pretty awesome arrows you've got there," Terra added, glancing behind him curiously.

"Where you from?" she asked, hooking her thumbs into her belt.

"Star City," he said proudly. "Ever been there?"

Blue eyes grew wide and the blonde hair waved as she nodded. "Yeah, I did a stop or two during my time on the road. It's a great place to chill out."

_Vanilla. Squeaky clean, easily liked, white, bright, and pretty much gets along with everyone_. _Nice cute little blonde: been there, done that. I've seen 'em all before."_

"ROBIN!"

Something, or rather someone, flew across the room like a purple and orange comet before colliding into Robin, giving him a giant bear hug. Speedy and Terra looked at each other and she got the giggles a moment before he started smirking to see Robin somewhat smothered in the affectionate embrace.

Robin accepted the hug and held the person back at arm's length. Speedy's mouth hung open and he resisted the urge to start drooling madly at the newcomer. "_Robin likes Butter Pecan."_

This girl was just out of this world! Her body had it all right with her long smooth legs in knee high purple boots and the matching mini-skirt certainly showed off her smooth curves in just the right way.

It was her colors that reeled Speedy in. Her skin had warm golden-orange tint that looked better than anyone who sat in a tanning bed. Her hair was a shimmering shade of bright red, her eyes a bright dazzling emerald green. Her friendly smiling mouth was warm and inviting. She was literally shining like a dazzling multicolored firework and glowing as brightly as a star.

The emerald green eyes that were gazing at Robin now flicked to Speedy, making his toes curl up inside of his boots.

"Starfire, I'd like you to meet Speedy. We've just become good friends at the tournament," he said to her.

The girl flew towards Speedy and seized his hand at once. "A friend of Robin is a friend of mine," she beamed at him. She was surprisingly strong and nearly shook his arm off with a zealous handshake. Yet having her warm hand touch his skin nearly sent an electric current shooting up his arm and into his brain.

_Well, if these are the benefits of being a Titan, I'll be happily recruited anytime._

"Welcome to our wonderful home, new Titan," she announced as she spread out a hand. "Perhaps we may fix you something to eat? I have homemade Gorlnak Tarts for everyone."

Judging from the way everyone was wrinkling their noses, Speedy decided it would be best to decline.

"Ha! Score!" Beast Boy shouted from the sofa. He slammed down the controls and began to dance a victory jig. Musical tunes beeped from the screen as the changeling started to disco around the room.

"Go Beast Boy, go Beast Boy, I'm the master, I'm the winner," he sang over and over again.

"Yeah yeah, just wait until next time, BB," Cyborg called from over his shoulder. Terra had come over and linked her arm around Beast Boy's. "That's great, Beast Boy. I knew you'd kick butt," she said sweetly. He suddenly flushed and the strangest tint of red appeared in his green cheeks.

"Terra, you wanna go um. . .around the bay?" he offered her shyly. She gave off a high laugh that reminded Speedy of bells ringing and nodded. Hand and hand, the two smaller Titans ran past Speedy and out the door.

He was still watching Starfire talking in her animated tone to Robin while tugging at his arm towards the kitchen with a plateful of some exotic glop. Speedy was still watching her legs until. .

"Hands off, Lover Boy," he heard a low gravel-like voice say. It was coming from Raven who had finally shut her book and was standing up. She pulled back her hood revealing a startlingly beautiful but pale face that reminded him of smooth cool gray marble.

"Robin and Starfire are best friends. If she's in trouble, you can count on Robin to whip the troublemaker's butt," she warned him in her somewhat melancholy tone.

"Yeah, and unless you want to doge her fire bolts, I'd recommend keeping your tongue in your mouth," Cyborg said with a more amused face.

"Sorry," Speedy said, shaking his hands in defense. "I was just, y'know."

"Hey, don't apologize. Star gets a lot of guys lookin' at her like that," he said cheerfully. Cyborg gestured to the empty seat on the couch.

"You wanna go a round of _Starkiller Scream _?" he offered. Speedy willingly slid into the seat next to Cyborg and grabbed the controls. Within a few minutes, he was thrust into the game, his fingers madly pressing at the buttons and his eyes narrowed keenly at the flashing ships and dodging bullets of the video game.

"How come Star can fly anyway?" Speedy asked.

"Dunno. She crashed to earth a while ago," Cyborg shrugged. "Rob spends a lot of time breaking her into earth ways. The girl gets so lost, she even drinks mustard out of the bottle."

Speedy had a good laugh at that one. "An alien, huh? Little weird."

"Man, we got a witch, a green shape shifter, and me: the human can opener," Cyborg said as he blasted an enemy patrol ship into smithereens.

"Sometimes I think we'd tear each other apart if it wasn't for Rob," he added.

Speedy paused, a nagging feeling creeping in the back of his mind. "So he's good, huh?"

"He's the best we've got. I mean, look at him: he's a genius guy and all, but no superpowers. No atomic rays or magic wings at all. But that never gets Rob down. He never complains or thinks he's any less. Rob just pulls us all together and keeps the Titans together."

_So Robin and I are alike. But here's the thing: he's got an entire team operating under his thumb. And I've got . . myself._

"Take Terra, for example," Cyborg went on.

"She blows into town with the butt kicking power to move mountains and shove earth around. And the girl was scared to death that we'd shove her away cuz she can't get control. Rob offers for her to stay but Rock Girl rolls off for a while.

She comes back and Rob never loses his cool. He keeps her in the ring and gives her another chance. Saves the Tower from sinking into the bay and voila! Titan number six is here to stay."

Speedy felt the excitement in his arms and head starting to die down. The game looked trivial and rather annoying right now. He dropped the controls suddenly and stood up. He didn't feel like playing anymore.

"Speed? You O.K, man?" Cyborg asked with concern.

"Yeah, sure," he said under his breath. "That's great, Cyborg. Just great."

A-A-A

Having met the Titans' friends, Speedy had yet to meet their enemies.

"This is Slade," Robin said, pointing to an image on the screen. "He's our most dangerous adversary yet. You don't want to mess with him on your own."

Speedy narrowed his eyes keenly at the image of the masked man. His entire head was covered in a helmet that was half black, half orange. He was missing his right eye but the left eye alone bore a sadistic commanding presence that said: "I am no one to be trifled with". Instead of a mouth, the helmet had metal slits on the bottom, assuming that this person actually needed to breathe air instead of venom.

"Hardware Head. Got it," Speedy said in a toying teasing tone. But Robin shook his head seriously.

"He's no one you should be bothering by yourself. Slade is a superb martial artist and has supernatural strength, more than anyone I've ever fought. He's got commanding droids, baiting traps, and probably an unlimited number of hideouts in the city."

The screen clicked off. Robin looked at Speedy and held up a circular compact inlaid with orange chrome and sporting a slick razor sharp S on the cover.

"So if you hear of anything that has to do with Slade, you let me know," Robin said.

"Right. Stand on the roof and holler 'til the cows come home."

"That's not funny, Speedy," Robin continued in his sergeant-like manner. He locked his hands behind his back and began to pace for a while. "Slade never strikes at once. He leaves clues. Bait. Riddles. Trouble. And we've got to put the pieces together before he makes another attack."

"Got it," Speedy said. "So, what's your next strategy?"

"I've already gotten that started," Robin said proudly as he clapped Speedy on the back. "I've realized that if he wants to break the Titans then we've got to stick together. The larger our team is, the sooner we wear Slade down."

"That's why you've been giving us communicators?" Speedy asked apprehensively.

"Of course!" Robin said with somewhat overly enthused delight. He slammed a fist into his open palm. "It's a brilliant plan! The more Titans, the better. People like you and Aqualad and Terra are just the beginning. Soon enough, we'll have enough power to bring Slade down once and for all!"

Robin finished his speech and turned back to Speedy, searching for his approval. But Speedy had a a sense of burning frustration and irritancy tugging to get out.

"I thought you were doing this for friends," he stated.

"It is! We need friends, we need trust to make ourselves stronger. Believe me, Speedy, I've learned the hard way about how important it is to trust people. But now, I know."

"And you trust us," he said slowly.

"Of course I do. And its really paying off as well, especially since Terra showed up. Ever since she's joined the team things have been better than ever."

"Beast Boy likes her," Speedy dared to say.

"Are you kidding? He's head over heels for her. Now that we've got Terra on the team Slade is going to regret he ever-"

CRASH!

"I'm sorry, Robin!" Terra squeaked. She bent down and began to gather up the pieces of broken pottery. "I'm so sorry, it was just too heavy to carry."

"Hey, its all right," he said, smiling and kneeling on the ground. Speedy watched Robin gather the shattered plates. Terra was still shaking and her slim hands trembling as she tried to clean up the mess. "I, I just lost control, that's all."

"No problem, Terra. Happens all the time," Robin said soothingly. He dumped the remains into the garbage and looked at Speedy. "Want to get pizza with us?"

"Thanks but no thanks, Speedy said, forcing down the growl in his throat. "I've got to get back to my place."

"Nice to meet all of you," he said, trying to sound as hopeful as he did before. Speedy gave a thumbs up to all of the Titans and they waved back.

"See ya later, Speed," Cyborg said.

"Dude, you'd better come back," Beast Boy added.

"Farewell, fellow Titan," Starfire chirped happily.

"If there's trouble, you know who to call," Robin concluded as he waved his communicator. "You can count on us, Speedy."

"Yeah. Thanks," he said, forcing one last grin on his face.

Speedy headed out the door, but not without glancing back one last time. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was off.

He couldn't tell what nagged at him more: the way Raven's dark eyes flashed or the way Terra had looked so anxious when she was looking at Speedy.

A-A-A

_Idiot!_

Speedy slammed the door of his apartment so hard that the windowpanes rattled.

_You are such an idiot!_

His entire lanky body was just shaking with this rage and utter disdain. He drove his fists against the walls again and again until his knuckles were getting raw and numb. Uncontrollable fire was burning inside of Speedy right now. _Where the hell does Robin get the nerve to act like that?_

He had to let off steam. Speedy tossed off his arrows and lay down on the training mat. He grabbed two dumbbells and began to raise them above his head, counting as he pumped the iron up and down.

One. .. two. . .three. . four

_I thought he was different than Batman. I thought he didn't think life was all about missions and work, work, work. But its all the same to Robin: everyone has to be a Titan. Everyone has to be part of his goddam plan to save the world._

Seventeen. . .eighteen. . .nineteen. . .twenty., . .

_HE'S the last person in the world I'd want to be. Stupid little spiky haired show off know it all . . ._

Twenty seven. .. twenty eight. .. twenty nine.

"I am not jealous!" he yelled out. Salt water was running from his brow and began to sting his eyes. He kept lifting the weights as his muscles strained for relief.

_Yes you are. _The message was there, firm and clear. _You are jealous because Robin has brains in his head and a great team. Not to mention a gorgeous girlfriend._

Thirty four. . . . thirty five. .. thirty six. .. thirty seven. . .

_Robin takes care of five other people without any superpowers at all. __But you're not like him. You're lucky to be standing on your own two feet because Robin would never succumb to what **you** did. How you trashed your mind and body-_

"SHUT UP!" Speedy roared into the humid room. His lone voice echoed and bounced against the walls. But there was no one to calm him down. He was alone. He reached into his pocked and took out the communicator. The gleaming white T starred back at him, taunting him with its pure white perfect decor. He could hear it taunting him.

_"Hello, Speedy! I'm Robin's pretty little toy and I'm here to remind you that he needs a lackey by his side-"_

Speedy was prepared to throw the communicator against the wall. It would make a wonderful sickeningly sound as it smashed into thousands of little pieces. That would the sweetest revenge of all to break Robin's dreams into a mess of broken wires.

But just couldn't do it. He could imagine it time and time again, but Speedy didn't have the nerve to destroy it. Robin gave him that communicator because he trusted the archer. And because he was trying to apologize for acting like a jerk.

_Smash that thing and you prove that you're the jerk now._

Speedy's shoulders sagged. He didn't have the guts to break it. It just wouldn't be right. _Do I really need Robin's approval? __Or is he looking for my acceptance?_ _Did Robin give it to me because he's testing me?_

He didn't know what to think. He didn't want to think. He just wanted to forget about everything for now.

Speedy dropped the communicator in a drawer and slammed it shut.

A-A-A

_One month later. . ._

The sun was setting over Star City late in the afternoon. Speedy had pulled down the blinds to block out the crimson streaks of light. Draped across his bed, he was pulling in a late afternoon nap to prepare before going on night patrol.

Hazy thoughts drifted in and out of Speedy's head before he heard the strange noise. It sounded like a beeping tone. The _dum-da-da-duuuuum_ had a whimsical and yet alert melody that was getting on his nerves.

His eyes drifted down to the drawer. Struggling sleepily, Speedy staggered out of bed and yanked it open. The Teen Titan communicator was beeping loudly with its red alert button flashing madly.

He hesitated at first. Maybe Robin just wanted to show off some more information. "Or he wanted a team workshop", Speedy thought to himself irritably.

_Or maybe Robin just needs some help._

"Robin doesn't need my help," he thought to himself.

Nevertheless, he flipped the lid open and glanced at the tiny circular screen inside. His eyes grew even wider. Starfire's face was inside the communicator.

"Speedy? Is that you?" her voice said.

"Um yeah, Starfire. Its me," he said, sitting back down on the bed.

"Perhaps you can. . that is, maybe you can assist us." She sounded scared and uptight.

Speedy felt his heart rate going up. "Starfire, are you all right? What's wrong?"

Starfire pressed a hand to her mouth and Speedy realized she was trying not to cry.

"Is it possible for you to come to Titans Tower now?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. "What's wrong? Can Robin help you?'

She was very quiet for a moment. Finally, Starfire said softly,

"It is Robin that needs help."

A-A-A

The first thing Speedy noticed when he came to Titan's Tower was how the atmosphere had changed drastically. There was no blaring music and no video games going at top speed. Raven was hovering the middle of the air, deep in meditation.

Starfire had been sitting at the table with her hands supporting her head. She lifted her head up a bit at Speedy came in. He noticed at once the emerald flame of life in her eyes had been dimmed down. Cyborg's usual confident grin and Beast Boy's quirky smile had also vanished.

The entire place felt like a dark cloud was hanging over everyone's heads. It was devoid of life and laughter. Silence alone filled the room making it seem more empty then ever.

Speedy's eyes panned across the room.

"Um, where's Robin?" he asked.

"On the roof," Cyborg said in a depressed voice.

"And where's Terra?" he asked.

The silence was deathly as the Titans all looked at him. It looked like they all wanted to say something but were holding the bad news back from Speedy.

"Terra is gone," Raven said at last.

More bottomless silence.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Speedy repeated. "She ran away?"

"She was working for Slade," Beast Boy added glumly. "She's not here anymore."

"What?"

"You heard the man. Rock 'n Roll girl was a spy for him."

"But she didn't mean to!" Beast Boy argued back. "Terra didn't know what she was getting into. She was lost and frightened about her powers."

"Yeah. She was so confused and scared and Slade made her think that we were the bad guys," Cyborg interrupted. "He trained her to get all those powers under her belt and sent her back to steal our secrets."

"And we had no idea that we couldn't trust her. She tried to kill us, so we fought back," Raven added. "But Slade tried to make her destroy us by taking control of her body and-"

"Time out! Time out!" Speedy yelled, making a gesture with his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair and breathed out.

"One thing at a time. Give me the rundown from the beginning."

After about ten minutes, the Titans were all sitting on the sofa and stringing the pieces together with Speedy. You could have hit him over the head with a ton of bricks. He couldn't believe that such a friendly looking girl had actually blasted the Titans apart, making everyone believe that the adolescent avengers were dead until they fought back with vengence. One day a living breathing human being, and the next thing, that little kid was gone off the map.

"So what happened in the end?"

"Terra stopped the volcano, and now she's become stone," Raven concluded. "Her statue is still there at the bay. And we're working on a way to find a cure."

"Ok, so you're all alive and safe," Speedy said at last. He folded his arms together. "So why'd you call me out here?"

"Robin is not well," she said unhappily. "He will not eat or sleep or even talk to us."

"He is the most unhappy of all of us. He truly believes that it is his fault for Terra's downfall."

"Yeah, and if Rob isn't O.K, then none of us are," Beast Boy said.

"Beast Boy, do you blame him?" Speedy asked him slowly.

"No! No way," Beast Boy shook his hands wildly. "I'll never forget Terra, I swear. But what happened.. . well, she chose to listen to Slade and took charge of her actions. Now its over."

"Its not over for Robin," Raven added. She looked right at Speedy.

"Robin has had issues with Slade for a very long time. He's always battling his own guilt and frustations. But he constantly blames himself whenever he can't stop bad things from happening."

"But he's human. We all make mistakes," Speedy insisted.

"YOU know that," Cyborg said, pointing a metallic finger at him. "And WE know that. But Rob doesn't know that."

"And I was thinking, since Robin speaks so highly of you," Starfire stammered. "That perhaps you could convince him, Speedy."

He was stunned beyond all shocks. "You guys want me to talk to him?" Unbelievable. There's a problem and when Wonder Boy can't do it, they call him. The Titans were all looking at Speedy with such pleading looks on their faces that he didn't dare refuse.

"Oh please, will you not at least try?" Starfire begged. She clasped her hands together tightly. "If Robin is to remain this melancholy, I do not think he will ever. . . "

Starfire hiccupped and her green eyes began to fill with salt water.

"You must, please, at least try to help him, Speedy. Please!"

A single tear oozed out of Starfire's eye and rolled down her rosy cheek.

If there was one thing he detested it was seeing a pretty girl looks this unhappy. If Robin was acting like a jerk then Speedy would give him a kick in the pants for making her cry. Gently, Speedy reached over and wiped the tear off her face.

"I'll do my best," he promised Starfire.

A-A-A

Robin was on the roof. He leaned forward on one knee with both hands resting on his leg. In fact, he almost looked like Batman but Speedy held his tongue.

"Robin? Its me," Speedy said from the doorway. He shut it behind him and stepped out onto the concrete of the play court.

"I'm glad you're here," Robin said in a surprisingly cool and controlled voice. But he didn't move at all. He kept his eyes still on the setting sun.

Speedy walked up from behind and came next to Robin. For a few moments Robin said nothing. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded old and tired, nothing like the vibrant young man that Speedy had fought at the tournament.

"You know, I thought being Titans thought we were unbeatable," Robin said.

"Aren't we still?" Speedy asked.

"No," Robin said coldly. "We're just some stupid kids running around in costumes."

"C'mon, you know that's not true. We've done some pretty good things together."

Robin gave a cold bitter laugh. "What have we ever done that was good? We've been magnets attracting bad things. I've been attracting Slade for far too long and he's taken a teenaged girl from this world. All because I wanted to make her into a Titan."

"Look, it's not your fault," Speedy began to say.

"I plan to fix this, Speedy," Robin interrupted him. He walked right up to the archer and held out an open palm. "I'm going to put everything back the way it was even before we met Terra."

Speedy raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you talking about?"

"Give it back," Robin ordered him sharply, flicking his palm madly.

"What?" Speedy asked.

"Give me your communicator. You're going to be off being a Titan. Forget you ever met us and go on with your life. And while we're at it," he said. "Make sure you tell Aqualad to hand his over as well."

"What?" Speedy was horrified and furious as well. This depressed guy was not the same confident team leader that he once knew. He couldn't stand seeing Robin act like a total wimp right now.

"You heard me. Hand it over," Robin repeated in an angry tone. "I said you're no longer a Titan and that's final."

"The HELL I'm not!" Speedy shouted, taking a step forward. "Just because one kid screws up is that a good enough reason to shut everyone else down?"

"Yes," Robin said irritably.

"Come on, Rob. You know me! I'm not going to turn traitor on you."

"That doesn't matter. I can't afford to endanger any more lives," Robin said. "Give me that communicator."

"NO!"

The two boys collided against each other with clenched fists and righteous fury in their masked eyes. No weapons, no games, no points to score. Just a power struggle over who's right and who's wrong.

Speedy already knew that Robin could get the upper hand. But that was only if he was fighting with a cool head. Now, as he watched Robin flip his body over and try to trip Speedy with swift kicks, the Boy Wonder was getting sloppy. Speedy had to use it to his advantage.

A fist was aimed for Speedy's head but he turned just in time. The gloved hand collided with his jaw painfully and sent him sprawling across the concrete. Speedy shot up at once and wiped the blood off his lower lip. Speedy ran, skidded to surprise halt, and swept his left leg sharply around Robin's ankle. The spikey-haired boy was knocked to the ground.

Robin got up and Speedy saw him positively shaking with rage. Robin had lost control of himself. He threw his shoulders back sharply and lunged for Speedy. Quickly, Speedy blocked the upper cut. He missed the next attack and felt the wind almost knock out of his chest.

They traded jabs and punches for several minutes until Speedy decided to get down and dirty. He pretended to protect his head and take a step back. Then he waited for Robin to leave himself vulnerable.

NOW!

Speedy drove his elbow sharply into Robin's stomach, just where he knew to hit. Wonder Boy's mouth flew open and he fell to his knees, bending over in pain. Robin sputtered and grabbed his stomach, shaking violently. He looked up at Speedy with gritted teeth.

"What did you do t-"

Robin's words came to a grinding halt when Speedy' blow caught up with his digestive system. He coughed sank to his knees, retching all over on the concrete. Speedy had reduced the Titans' leader to a hot-headed vomiting teenager.

It was a dirty trick but helpful one. Green Arrow had taught Speedy that if you hit someone in the liver just right, they'd throw up. Not the most acceptable thing to do but it got the job done.

Robin stopped vomitting after only about five seconds, but that was more than enough time. Speedy had pinned him down from behind and forced Robin's wrists together. Robin struggled but couldn't shake the other Titan off.

"Get off of me, you son of a," he started to threaten.

"Shut up! Shut up and listen to me!" Speedy shouted, tugging at Robin's arms. Robin gritted his teeth as the pain in his shoulder sockets tightened.

"It wasn't your fault, Robin. The kid made a bad mistake. Not your fault," Speedy said sharply.

"Then who's fault is it?" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs. "Someone has to be brought to justice! I've got to punish someone!"

That was all Speedy needed to hear. Robin sounded so sick and so frustrated that he seemed to be willing enough to suffer anything as long as the bad guys got what they deserved. No wonder he was so messed up inside. And to think he was actually jealous of Robin at once time...

"You shouldn't be telling me what to do, Speedy," Robin ranted on. He wasn't screaming but he still sounded bitter "You don't know what its like to lose the people you care about. You don't know half the pain-"

"Of losing someone you care about?" the archer said, hitting the nail on the head.

Robin stopped thrashing long enough now.

"Yeah, Robin. I know. You and I know well enough what its like to lose like that."

He had also lost his parents. But it wasn't because of criminals or psycopaths. Just a forest fire, that's all. Dad runs towards the flames to save people and he doesn't come out. That's the end. Roy Harper couldn't ask for justice the way Dick Grayson could avenge the death of his circus parents. Sometimes you're a victim of crime...other times you're a victim of fate.

Fate plays a game and you've got to learn to master that game. Sometimes, you can even cheat Fate and come out ahead. Sometimes, you lose and fall back behind. But don't ever look back and regret the past, or the shadows will swallow you alive.

You've got to focus on a goal for the future.

Keep your eyes on the target.

Keep your eyes open and shoot forward.

Robin couldn't understand that and Speedy didn't blame him. He was too brooding, too obsessed with trying to take control of every situation. Inwardly, Speedy sighed. Robin was a lot like Batman.

"Robin, Star told me that Terra wasn't stable. Not everyone is as strong as you."

"I'm not strong at all. I'm an idiot," Robin said. Speedy realized that Robin's shoulders were shaking and his head was hanging loose, black hair falling into his face. Ever so slowly, he loosened his grip on Robin and allowed Boy Wonder's arms to fall to the ground with his head.

Robin came to his knees and pressed a hand to his forehead. He was still shaking uncontrollably and Speedy realized something astonishing: he had broken Robin.

"She's gone...Terra's gone," Robin chocked out. "Roy, help me."

_That's us. Not Speedy and Robin but Roy and Richard. It's not about the masks and games. Underneath it all we're just two crazy kids in an unfair world._

"It's all right," he muttered. "We're still here, aren't we?" Speedy helped Robin to his feet. "Sorry I made you lose your lunch," he added.

"I deserved it. I'm sorry, Roy," Robin muttered. He rubbed the corners of his masked eyes to hold back the tears. "I just wanted to help Terra. I didn't want any other kids to be lonely like we were."

"I know. You wanted to do the right thing. "

Roy knew too well what it meant went life hit you hard and you were left on the rocks. You didn't know where to turn to. Depression was a small hole where people were sorely tempted to curl up inside and hide from the cold cruel world.

There were something much worse than that.

A-A-A

_**Two years ago:**_

Speedy had been getting hit by Cupid's arrow by Donna Troia. The beautiful black haired heavenly lady known as Wonder Girl set sparks in his heart for a while. Then, it ended. Just like that. Not easy to get over once you've been sure she's the right one.

Breaking hearts means you need fixing, and when you're desperate, you'll do anything. Some boys get even. Some run away. Some commit suicide.

And Speedy?

Green Arrow had also been separating himself from the teen archer. Speedy was getting annoyed and feeling self-isolated. Video games and flirting with pretty girls weren't any solutions to his sadness. He tried roads that shouldn't have been traveled on.

Like Alice in Wonderland, he started using the wrong things to find a solution to his problems: The needles. The packets of funny powders.

For a while the problems just disappeared. The little white lies were hidden for a while. No one had to know that he was handling the dangerous items and smuggling them back into his apartment instead of turning them into the authorities. Did it matter? The needles stopped the pain inside of him and that was all he wanted.

But then a few weeks later, he found himself craving "the stuff" more and more. Speedy slept in late and didn't go out for butt kicking at night. He stayed in his room to use the pills and syringes. Some of his possessions he would sell in a frenzy just to get some cold hard cash before trading the money in for more of "the stuff".

He didn't travel or go out looking for fun and adventure. When he would try to shoot a bow, his vision would get blurry and his hands would start to shake. He would get up late in the day and upon facing the mirror, seeing cracked bleeding bloodshot eyes behind his mask, he'd shudder and turn away.

No phone calls, no letters, no nothing. He wanted to lie inside of himself for years and drown the sorrow in sweet illusions where you could have anything and everything you wanted.

That was how Green Arrow found him one day when Speedy was kneeling over the ceramic bowl of the toilet, clutching his stomach and moaning softly in pain.

"Roy?"

He heard the door slam and immediately rolled over on the ground, the cold tiles of the floor pressed against his skin. Speedy didn't want to talk to him now.

Green Arrow stepped into the bathroom and his eyes grew wide behind his mask. He pushed the brim of his jaunty pine green hat back and looked stunned. Speedy was slumped over near the toilet like a drunken sailor.

"Go away," Speedy said in a slurred voice.

"You've been doing more than playing hookey, haven't you," Green Arrow said with a frown on his face. "What's going on, Roy?"

"Go away!" he shouted again, waving a hand clumsily. "You've been runnin' away from me for a while. You don't want to hang around a piece of garbage like me."

"You're not garbage, Roy. But you're sick. You need a hospital right now."

"NO!" Speedy yelled, struggling to get onto his shaking feet. "You'll have to throw me into jail, not a hospital. I'm a bad boy, I am." He started cracking up, a sick hollow laugh shaking him all over.

Green Arrow was unfazed. "If you don't tell me what's going on then I'll find out myself," he warned.

Speedy stopped laughing. He dropped himself into a chair."Ok, look. Lets say there's a kid and he's got a friend who's been like a father and best friend to him," he said aloud.

"Roy, what are you trying to tell me? What have you done?" Green Arrow demanded.

Speedy just groaned and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He had a pounding headache and the entire room was spinning. He felt his body slipping off the chair before he rolled onto the ground. Well, he might as well get this over with. Green Arrow would never speak to him again.

"I-I-needed a substitute for a friend,' he said slowly. "Even if it was. . ."

He pointed to a cardboard box that lay on the floor. Green Arrow eyed it curiously. Then he tipped the contents onto the floor. "_Drugs_! he nearly exploded.

Speedy didn't have to say anything else. Because there was nothing to say.

"My god, Roy! You'd never even touch this kind of stuff!" He pointed to a needle on the floor. "How long have you been taking this stuff?"

"Over a year now."

"I'm sorry, Ollie. But after Donna broke up with me. . and you were ignoring me. . I thought. .. I just..." Speedy's babbling finally broke down in tears. His head dropped into his hands with shame. "I didn't know what to do. I wanted to stop the pain. I'm so sorry," he cried.

Speedy waited for Green Arrow to start berating him. To tell him what a pathetic wreck and loser he was.

But it never happened. His mentor knelt on the

He saw a shadow cloak his body as his mentor slowly knelt on the ground next to him. Why would Oliver stoop down to his level and even care about Speedy now?

Because that's what heroes do. They don't just fly in the air and shoot laser out of their eyes. They're not flaunting endlessly in parades or magazines. Heroes are there to help people. They try to change the bad into good and give hope when all seems lost. And a hero will always protect the people that he or she loves the most of all.

Green Arrow put a firm hand on the teens' shoulder.

"Now you stop crying," he said firmly, shaking a finger in Speedy's face. "You stop that and listen to me. I'm the one who should be sorry. If I hadn't ignored you for so long...I should've been more aware of what you were going through. But we're going to fix it," Green Arrow insisted. "I'm going to help you get all that terrible stuff out of your body and get back the Speedy I'm still proud of."

Speedy blinked through his bloodshot eyes. "You mean it? I thought you were going to walk out on me."

"What? Never. You're like a son to me, Roy. And nothing you do could make me turn my back on you. So don't you _ever _call yourself garbage again."

Speedy released a deep sigh of grattitude. His head still reeled from the aftermath of his last dose but he felt himself slowly emering from the darkness. A muffled sob escaped his throat.

"Thank you."

The months that followed were strenous ones. He was suffering from the lack of chemicals once Speedy started the rehab. He was sorely tempted to run out at night and start again. But he didn't give up. If Green Arrow believed in him then Speedy would do everything he could to kick the bad habit.

Slowly but surely, Speedy started to get his strength back. He swore off those nasty fixes and got himself back into training. He tugged harder and harder at the bow strings until he was strong enough to go flying forward, freed of the shackled past.

A-A-A

Now Speedy knew he'd have to help Robin pick up the broken pieces and move on. Learning to save yourself was one of the toughests lessons he had learned in his life.

"I'm such an asshole," Robin said.

"No you're not. You've got to stop hating yourself, Robin. Nobody else does. Heck, everyone thinks you're a great leader. But you can't carry on like this or you'll drag the team down with you."

Robin looked at Speedy, slowly digesting the words of the archer.

Speedy reached into his pocket and took out something small and shiny. "After I lost my dad, a Navajo Indian took care of me before I met Green Arrow. He's the one who taught me archery. And he gave me this."

He showed Robin a tiny eagle carved out of blue turquoise. "It's for good luck. And I want you to have it."

Robin started to protest but Speedy took his hand and dropped it into his palm. "You can give it back to me later. Just hold onto it for now. I think you need it."

Robin looked down at the eagle and fondled it carefully, feeling the smooth calmness of the blue-green stone to his skin even through his gloved fingers. "I guess a little luck never hurts".

"Neither do friends," Speedy added. Robin managed, just barely, to give back a weak smile and a nod. He did not set the small bird aside. Instead, he carefully placed it in a compartment of his utility belt.

"Thanks."

A-A-A

"Might be good to keep things cool for a while," Speedy advised the other Titans. He slung his quiver back over his shoulder and snapped on his utility belt. "Don't even mention Slade's name. Try to make Robin forget about him."

"Easier said than done," Beast Boy said in a glum voice. Speedy furrowed his eyebrows for a moment.

"You know, once Rob's got his brains gearing into something, he wont stop. Maybe you guys can keep him preoccupied with some other cases. Any other bad guys in the market?"

"Yeah, we've been working on the HIVE lately," Cyborg said on a lighter note. "Rob's been talking about an infiltration plan that could really let us into their secrets."

Speedy fiddled with his gloves for a moment and chewed on the idea. "It sounds like a good plan."

"Wait! Is there nothing more that we can do for Robin?" Starfire asked him. He looked into her green eyes, startled by the supernatural glow of tenderness and concern that she had for Robin. Speedy walked up to Starfire and put his hands on her shoulders firmly, making sure he could look her squarely in the eye.

"Just keep reassuring Robin that you'll be there for him. He's gotta come out of that black hole of his sooner or later. I know he'll listen to you, Starfire."

Her mouth turned up into a small smile and she nodded her head. "Thank you, Speedy. I will do that."

Cyborg bopped his fist against Speedy's own. "Thanks again, man."

"We'll see you around, Speedster," Beast Boy added.

Walking on his way out, Speedy noticed Raven standing in the doorway. An odd shiver ran down his back as he noticed her keep amethyst eyes peeping out from the shadows of her cloak. She pulled back her hood revealing a face as smooth as pale gray marble and imperial as a queen. He nodded her and she returned the nod calmly.

"We're glad you came, Speedy."

"I'm glad I did."

He waved goodbye and was given a shocking but delightful unexpected surprise. Starfire suddenly flew across the room, threw her arms around Speedy's neck, and planted a warm gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Robin is lucky to have a friend like you," she whispered softly into his ear. The archer flushed red and gawked, putting a gloved hand to his face to actually make sure that such a wonderful gift hadtruly been bestowed upon him.

Speedy wouldn't have ever traded that kiss in for the brightest star in the universe.

Author's note: The issue of liver attack was in "Identity Crisis" part 3, as narrated by Green Arrow.


	3. Armed Resistance

He wished there was an easier way out. He wanted the pain of his suffering to be over with as painless as possible. After all, if taking a magic pill created all of the nightmares then wasn't there an equally decent antidote?

He guessed not. For the first time in his life, Speedy could not be speedy. He had to slow down and accept responsibilities for his errors.

No one else in the rehabilitation room paid attention to the lanky teenager leaning against the door. He would have looked handsome if not for the heavy bags under his eyes hinting to more than just a little bit of restless frustration.

His fingers went into the pocket of his tan leather jacket but did not find what he was looking for. He could feel his stomach turning over uneasily _No, I just had it right here. I'm not losing my head!_

His eyes panned up and down the hallway but he couldn't find it. His knees began to tremble. The old nerves were whispering for some "magic" relief that he had sworn never to touch again. It was taking Speedy tremendous strength not to rush out of the room, down the corridor, and back to his needle-injected escapes.

"Hold on a minute, they haven't even gotten started yet".

The voice came from a smiling brown-haired man who had just put a hand on Speedy's shaking shoulder. He looked up at the newcommer uneasily.

"Lose something?" The man opened his hand revealing the little turquoise eagle. Then he tipped it into Speedy's palm. "I figured you looked like you had a hole burning in your pocket. Good thing I found this before turning around the corner."

"Thanks," the teen stammered. "Mister..."

"Palmer. Ray Palmer."

Speedy almost yelled out the name. No wonder it rang a bell with him. "You're Doctor Palmer? The Atom?" he whispered so as not to attract too much attention.

Dr. Palmer nodded. "At your service, Roy Harper."

"What's a physics teacher doing here?"

Dr. Palmer sat down on a nearby bench and motioned for Speedy to sit next to him. Skeptically and slowly, he accepted the offer. Dr. Palmer crossed his hands over the back of his head and leaned back casually.

"As a scientist, I've studied a lot of things. And as a League member, I'm used to being 'on duty' with or without the costume".

"Thanks but I don't need anyone to rescue me."

"Who said anything about rescuing? I'm just here as a friend."

It was frank and somewhat awkward on Speedy's part, but Dr. Palmer's calm voice was having a positive effect on him and he didn't want to run off yet, especially on a superhero that could shrink himself down into a tiny speck.

Speedy shrugged his shoulders. "There's not much to talk about. I thought no one cared about me so I didn't care about myself. And I've made myself sick with things instead of people."

"Do you want to stay sick?" Dr. Palmer asked.

"Hell no. But its hard trying to change after so long. I can hardly remember what I was like before the doping began".

Dr. Palmer lowered his hands and leaned forward, holding his chin with his thumb and index finger and looking at Speedy up and down for a moment. Finally, he dropped his arms and said, "You look like a smart kid. Know a little bit about motion and action, right?"

Speedy nodded.

"Then tell me something about inertia."

"Like what?"

"Whatever comes to your mind".

"Okay. Well, uh...whatever stays going stays going. And whatever stays still will stay still."

"Well said." Dr. Palmer nodded approvingly. "You feel immobilized right now. And you'll stay that way if you keep letting your mistakes get to you. But if you dare to start changing your ways and get those wheels rolling, you'll be feeling better with every passing day".

Dr. Palmer checked his watch. "Its time for the meeting to start. We'd better go inside."

Speedy followed him but before they could pass through those doors to the recovery meeting, Dr. Palmer turned back to him, put his hands firmly on Speedy's shoulders, and gave him a few last words of reassurance.

"I know it seems hard now, Roy. But things _will _get better when you have confidence in yourself."

Speedy didn't remember much else about that day. The words that everyone spoke folded into each other, the people in the room were all a blur of colors and shapes. All he remembered was an eerie feeling of standing in a room full of people and without his mask or costume. He had felt bare and vulnerable, yet somehow calm and more relieved inside than he had felt all year.

He remembered seeing Dr. Palmer in the back of the room as he watched Speedy's moves. He remembered the dryness in his throat when he got to his feet and faced the rehab group.

And he remembered the words that thundered inside before coming out and saying, "My name is Roy Harper. I am sixteen years old. I am a drug addict and I want to stop."

A-A-A

_Eight months:_

Back on track and badder than ever, Speedy was ready to kick some tail. He watched one dark figure run out of the warehouse before signaling for another to follow.

He had just gotten the signal from Robin that the HIVE had been pulling its strings more and more often. They were now hitting closer to home and S.T.A.R Maexon's alarm had gone off. Since the laboratory was closer to Star City than Jump City, would Speedy mind pulling this one off?

"One takeout arrest coming right up!" Speedy had said into the communicator with glee. Now that they had straightened a few things out he felt obligated, if not honored, that Robin was trusting him with some of the Titan's cases.

"Hey, hey!" Speedy yelled, chasing the two figures down the alleyway. They were scrambling as fast as they could, holding capsules of valuable liquids stolen from the S.T.A.R Laboratory.

Speedy pulled out two of his heat seeking arrows and pulled back his bow. Behind his mask, his eyes narrowed keenly and began to calculate the right moment and angle to attack. This was going to be a little tricky: he'd have to pinpoint the goons down without breaking those capsules.

But he was always good at being a little faster than his rivals.

He released the heat seekers and let them soar down the alleyway, screeching with a whiney hissing sound towards the bandits. They turned around and Speedy was stunned: their eyes were glowing bright red against the darkness of the night. He recovered quickly and realized what he had to do.

Sprinting on the concrete, he ran faster then he had ever done before and jumped into the air. His hands caught hold of an iron bar on the fire escape and he pulled his body up before twisting into a summersault. The heat seekers were just inches from their targets.

_BOOM_!

There was an explosion as the arrows burst into flames upon colliding with the goons. They weren't _that _lethal: the fire couldn't burn a person up on contact, not unless you ran around yelling and screaming for a few minutes. But the heat was still enough to stun the goons and sizzle their bodies for a good thirty seconds.

They both shrieked and their arms and legs went flaying out, causing one of them to release his grip on a capsule full of blue gel. Speedy let go and jumped down from the fire escape. His right hand extended out and grabbed the capsule in midair like catching a baseball. He landed on the ground safely and turned back to see the goons had fallen to the ground in two black heaps.

"What's wrong with you guys anyway?" he said as he stood up and walked over to their unconscious bodies.

"Why the red eyes, contacts bugging you?"

"They've been mindwiped," came a clear feminine voice. Speedy glanced up to see a young woman hovering over his head looking down on him keenly.

Shiny wings protruded from her back and beating in the air sharply to keep herself afloat. The girl's wings slowed down a bit as she lowered herself to the ground. Black boots made a finely heard clicking sound against the concrete. She put her tanned hands on her hips and looked at Speedy.

"They were HIVE students, subjected into doing Brother Blood's bidding. And you caught them doing some bad after school activities."

"And you are?"

She twirled two gold B shaped weapons around her index fingers. "I'm Bumblebee."

_"Of course. Any girl who can pull off wearing that much leather is sweet as honey yet sharp as a tack." _

Speedy was beginning to feel like his old self and he relaxed a bit. "So, what's a Sugar Queen like you doing in a place like this?" he smiled, trying to act utterly amusing.

She only snapped her fingers sharply in his face. "Don't try pulling any of your cupid crap on me."

_"Half sweet and half acid." _"Oooh, tough girl," he said.

"It was hard enough infiltrating into the HIVE. Goodness knows how many boys kept trying to grab my backside." The girl groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"You've been infiltrating?" he asked her.

"Along with Aqualad."

"Hahaha! Tuna Boy's been hanging out with you?

"The same guy who got his butt kicked in the Tournament of Champions. And by the way, he wants a rematch with you."

The discussion was interrupted by two musical beeps that sang the same number simultaneously. Speedy took out his compact but Bumblebee already had hers out.

"Robin, its Bee. I've got a ego-inflated redhead here. Does he check out clean?" she demanded.

"Speedy's no HIVE agent. He's a good friend of mine," Robin's face answered back in the tiny screen. Speedy glanced over Bumblebee's shoulder and peered into the small face. Robin waved back as Speedy.

"I saw your stunt on the camera monitors. Good job Robin said. Speedy wanted to savor the compliment but his concerns were coming up.

"Y'know Rob, if thing are going to get any tougher with this psycho school for dummies then you'd better have a Plan B," Speedy warned him.

"Actually, I already have," Robin's voice spoke into the communicator. "Now that the HIVE is rebuilding and regrouping, it'll be easier for them to hunt us down one by one. That's too risky. Especially with you three moving at free range between the cities."

"Five," she said calmly.

"Five?" Speedy asked curiously.

"Five," she repeated. "The League's little operation in South America worked and they've sent me two more of the victims for protection."

"But are they all right?" Robin said skeptically.

"These two boys are the best thing ever," she smirked. "Prepare to get your fancy tights knocked off, Wonder Boy."

"Hey, hey, don't leave me out of this," Speedy reminded her. "What's going on? What's plan B? Who's going knock Robin's Christmas pants off?"

"Hold on to your boots, Little John," Bee chided him. "Because Robin's been having an idea so crazy, that it just might work."

Speedy noticed that Robin had that same ingenuous smile on his face when he was cooking up a brilliant plan. And now that he had started to find the inner circle of his target with the Teen Titans, he wanted to be as focused as possible. What Robin did, he wanted to be a part of.

"Fine, Rob. I'm all ears. What's the plan?"

"The question is, how'd you like to team up?" Robin said.

A-A-A

Two weeks later, Speedy was getting second thoughts about being a Titan.

He didn't know who to start hollering at first: Robin or Brother Blood.

Robin for suggesting they set up a headquarters in Steel City on the Eastern Bay.

Or Brother Blood for actually heading eastward so they'd have to go out and find him.

The place, Speedy had decided, was a dump. The T-shaped tower was no small fry, but it was lodged into part of the hill where a lighthouse once stood. Nobody had lived there for years since ships stopped coming into the harbor and the city was focused on mining metals. Usually the days were cloudy with smoke from factories mingling into the watery pale skies. The weather was disgustingly cold and icy.

Why on earth did they have to put up with this instead of the sunny beaches of California? There were no babes in bikinis here, not even babes in fur coats!

So with the combination of a leaky malfunctioning building, foul weather, and no lead on Brother Blood, everyone was in a grouchy mood. Aqualad hadn't brought up his defeat at the tournament but he was still just as much of a whiner.

"Fish tacos? What were you thinking?" he nearly screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I was thinking of protein," Speedy retorted. He unwrapped the waxed paper from a thick heavy sandwich and breathed in the greasy salty scent of his meal. Ahhh, junkfood. . .

"I'm from the ocean! These were probably _friends _of mine," Aqualad said with nearly tears in his eyes. Speedy just waved a taco in the air and rolled his eyes.

"Ya said get lunch, I got lunch. Chow down!" He bit into the thick juicy taco full of hot fresh fish.

_VROOOM_!

A flash of red and white light whizzed by before a grinding halt announced the arrival of Mas and Menos.

"_Mmm! Tacos el pescado!_"

Mas and Menos proceeded to wolf down lunch with glee. Speedy suspected that the pint sized troublemakers from South America were ready to trip him up at any moment. At least they had gotten their appetites back.

He proceeded to take out a mirror and glance at his hair. It was getting frizzy. What's the point of being a dashing crime fighter if you don't look decent in public?

"Well, don't you fellas look comfy," came a somewhat irritated voice.

Bee marched in with a screwdriver just as Speedy had managed to flatten his hair. "Come on, guys, this Tower isn't going to build itself," she said in a commander officer voice. Her shining dark eyes fell on Speedy and immediately, she began to chastise him.

"That's a super computer. It's not a footstool," she added, pointing to his feet which were comfortably propped up on the large metal box.

"Thanks mom," he muttered under his breath. "Why don't you bother Tuna Boy here instead?"

"Can't work. Tacos..." Aqualad started to moan. Mas and Menos offered him of their lunch. Aqualad covered his mouth and rushed out.

"Four idiots. At this rate, Blood will be probably knocking on our door any minute." Speedy put down his mirror and glared at her. Bee wasn't just bossy. She was downright _annoying! _And he had decided that it was high time to push this girl's buttons.

"So tell me, who died and made you queen anyhow?" he said sarcastically. "And are you always this grouchy as this time of the month, or is your bra on too tight?"

ZAP!

He was blasted off of the couch and across the room before being smashed into the wall. Plaster crumbled off the beams along with Speedy until he finally sank into the ground.

"Ow! That hurt, Bee," he growled at her.

"You're nothing more than a lazy slob," she shot back at him. "I don't know why Robin recruited you as a Titan or even why he trusts you."

"Maybe its because I don't go around acting like a drill sergeant," he said to her. "Instead of trying to call all the shots like you do 24/7."

"Well, maybe you could call the shots if you spent more time working," she snapped back. The girl snatched his comb away. "And LESS time messing with your hair!"

The twins ruffled up their own hair and blew kisses into the air. "_Mirame_! _Soy Pelo Grande! A la orilla cede y adora mío pelo hermoso!" _they laughed gleefully.

"What did you just call me?"

"They just said, '_Look at me. I'm Big Hair. Relax and adore my beautiful hair_," Bee smirked.

That did it. He grabbed a drill and brandished it at the pint sized monsters. "You're lucky I don't understand that, you little brats," he growled.

Bee had already positioned herself between the archer and the Tornado Twins. "Take a chill pill, Speedy. They're just kids."

"You're telling _me_ to chill? Don't start that up again," he snapped at her.

That's how bad things were just before help arrived. Bee wouldn't stop bitching at him, Mas and Menos were making fun of his hair, Aqualad was throwing up in the bathroom, and well. . . maybe being a Titan wasn't the easiest thing in the world. But it would be nice for some dammed help once in a while!

A-A-A

Thank goodness Cyborg showed up. He knew a about everything from roomate trouble to leaky toilets. Give and take that he was usually caught between the commanding orders of Robin and the stink-ball creator Beast Boy, he had steady balance of work and playtime.

Several hours passed as they followed Cyborg's instructions to repair things. It would've stayed all right until Mas and Menos "accidentally" dropped a bucket of blue paint right onto Speedy's head. The rivet gun in his hand went bezerk with rage, stapeling dozens of nails into the wall.

He yanked bucket off his head. "Now look what you made me do," he snapped at the twins. If this stuff was going to permanently ruin his hair then he'd hang them upside down by their toes for a week. They made another funny comment in Spanish just before the same exploding apocalypse began all over again.

"ENOUGH!" Cyborg finally roared out. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to him. "The problem isn't your tower," he explained, trying to be as patient as possible. "Its your team."

The brief rebuke was all they needed to get themselves in gear. Everone tried again and worked hard not to step on each other's toes.

By the time the Titans East first battle came around, Speedy and Aqualad were making an impressive pair of fighters. Even the little monster twins gave him a great hand at puling apart the robots. And when the real Brother Blood showed up, he didn't stand much of a chance against Cyborg's preparations. Victory would be sweet, indeed.

And they all needed some chilling out time. Cyborg filled in the job perfectly. Nah, he wasn't anything like Robin, and that made things ten times better for Speedy. Yes, a focused guy in the fight, but no where along the lines of the drill sergeant. Whip the robots? In the bag. Disco ball? Sure! Take out Brother Blood? Why not!

Lead the Titans East? Cyborg actually accepted.

"Robin isn't going to be happy about it," Cyborg had said privately to Speedy in the hallway. "Y'know, he can be kind of-"

"Bossy," Speedy finished up. The half metal teenager laughed and knocked a fist against the archer's shoulder.

"Yeah, Robin isn't exactly 'normal' like the rest of us," Speedy said. "To him, a good time is flash cards and sit-ups."

Cyborg laughed at that one. "Too true. But you're cool, Speed. You know how to chill."

Maybe things were going to be all right. Maybe being part of Titans East would really set the record straight.

A-A-A

Exhausted after a long day, Speedy returned to his new room. Many cardboard boxes were still scattered on the floor, but he was too worn out to unpack now. The archer lazily flopped onto his bed and spread out his arms.

Aaaaah, to finally get a break. He removed his mask and began to massage his temples, relaxing and listening to the quiet humming sound of the heater.

His relaxation was short lived.

A loud crashing sound was heard out in the corridor. Speedy snapped up at once and grabbed his mask and arrows.

Quickly fitting the black cloth over his face, he stepped out into the hallways with an arrow already poised and ready to fire. But no one was there in those long blue corridors.

"Hello? Who's there?" he called out. His voice echoed in the long lonely room. Speedy slowly lowered his bow and shrugged. Maybe Cyborg was moving something, or else Mas and Menos were pulling a practical joke. He put the arrow back in its compartment and hooked the bow onto his utility belt.

Speedy was about to go back inside when the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle up. He whirled around just in time to see a shadow sprinting down the corridor. He ran after it and came to a screeching halt.

He found himself face to face with Aqualad. Burning red eyes glared at him in place of his usual brilliant dark orbs.

"What's wrong with your-"

_SHOOM!_

Speedy's breath was knocked out when a tidal wave of water had materialized and snaked around his body. Unable to grab behind his back for an arrow, he found himself totally encompassed inside of the water that was pouring into his lungs at a painfully quick pace.

His eyes strained through the aquatic attack to find a way out, but the waters dropped at once, releasing a soaking wet and very shocked Speedy back onto the tiles.

Coughing and sputtering up water, he looked back at Aqualad.

"What's gotten into you, Water Boy? You suddenly backstabbing me?"

"The headmaster will speak to you now," Aqualad said in a cold and controlled voice that was not at all like his usual tone. Speedy had barely gotten to his feet when he felt an invisible force smash into his chest, nailing the archer against the wall. His arms and legs were immobilized as well.

He heard a faint chuckle and noticed a tall slim figure in the shadows. Slowly, the figure came forward and the harsh lights threw a sadistic look onto his face.

"Show yourself, jerk!" Speedy shouted.

Cold blue eyes rimmed with black malevolence gazed at Speedy and nodded. The archer shook his head in frustration, refusing to believe what had just happened. "No way! We kicked you out hours ago!"

"You assume things too soon," Brother Blood smirked. He nodded to Aqualad and Mas and Menos, who had suddenly zipped over. The twins' usual chubby smiles were also replaced with glowing red eyes and frozen faces.

"You crazy freak," Speedy glared at him. "What did you do my friends?"

"They are under my surveillance now. And very soon, the same fate will belong to the girl and to yours," he said with a very smug look on his face.

"Although I have to admit, the formation of a Titans East did seem to threaten my plans for the expansion of the school," Blood drawled out as he paced the floor, holding his chin in thought. "But when I noticed how efficient all of you were, I realized you would all be far more worth my time fighting by my side instead of dying in battle."

"Us? Fight with a psychopath teacher like you? You can take that idea and shove it up your butt, Blood."

The Headmaster's entire face darkened like a storm cloud. "How DARE you speak to me like that, you foolish boy!"

A bony hand grabbed Speedy's scalp with the fingers gripping tightly onto his red hair.

Blood muttered something under his breath. Sparks of white-hot pain shot through Speedy's internal systems. He ground his teeth to control the agony but refused to beg for his life.

"Must I discipline you as well, Mr. Harper?" Blood hissed. His furious face suddenly melted into one of calmness and almost tranquility when he saw the stunned look on Speedy's face. "Oh, I know _everything_ about you, Roy. Every single terrible thing that you've been trying to scrub out of your conscience."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Speedy snarled.

"Am I?" Brother Blood intensified his power as Speedy thrashed in pain. He could feel the madman's power infesting his mind, crawling into every dark corner of his being.

"No," he hissed. "Do't go in there."

The drugs. The sickness. The coughing and heachaces every lonely night.

Speedy tried to catch his ragged breath, but it was a losing battle. He could feel himself sinking in deeper and deeper into the inky black well of darkness that Blood was creating inside of his head.

"You. . . you're just brainwashing us," he struggled to say.

"I hardly thing it is necessary or even civilized to replace a person's thoughts," Blood said. "As a teacher, one finds more control by exposing a student's greatest weaknesses. But don't worry. I can give you salvation from the demons that plagues your mind."

"What is this, a confession booth?" Speedy suddenly snapped. "You have no damned business to go into my mind!" An eerie chuckle answered him.

"My my, Mr. Harper. You seem to be the very bad boy indeed," Brother Blood murmured. He knew that he had needled Speedy in the wrong place and planned to exploit the truth to use to his advantage.

"Oh, there's no need to be ashamed of yourself, dear boy. These things do happen. But what. . what's this?" he nearly gloated with glee. He pressed a finger harshly against Speedy's skull. The memories poured over him, burning and scorching like lava.

It was the memory of Robin first meeting Speedy. The annoying neurotic little jerk who just had to be a Boy Scout and win all the trophies.

"What would _he _think if he knew the truth about you? The Boy Wonder is such a perfectionist. He would never ally himself with anyone who is less than the best. If he knew about your drug problem then he'd turn his back on you."

"LIAR!" Speedy shouted.

Brother Blood only chuckled in amusement. He formed an image of Starfire inside of Speedy's mind, making the teenager's heart began to beat much faster.

"You know you want her," Blood urged him. "Why don't you go for the gold, Roy? Take what you desire and you deserve."

He was tumbling back into the darkness. A vicious desire was growling in him like a hungry beast. He wanted revenge and he wanted lust. He wanted to get back at that silly spiky-haired Robin and take his girl.

Slowly, the powers began to eat into Speedy's conscience. He blinked and tried to say something, but his mouth was locked tight. His eyes refused to look in any other direction but into the glowing red ones of Brother Blood.

"You are now under my control," he announced in a droning voice. "You will obey my every command and wish."

"Every command and wish," Speedy heard himself repeat. No! How could he be saying that? But his head was nodding woodenly and he felt his limbs move not of their own accord, but to the bidding of the headmaster. Speedy slowly got to his feet, rejoining the other manipulated boys.

"Excellent," Blood laughed aloud.

Speedy screamed and thrashed inside but it was all in vain. His mind, his body, and his soul were not his to control. I, _.. I'm no longer a Titan _a tiny voice yelled out bitterly. _I'm his minion._

"Come, my new students," Blood said with a flourish of his hand. "We have yet to find the others."

A-A-A

Insanity. Pure genius gone to insanity was all that Brother Blood was. When Cyborg was attacked by his own team members, it was the bitterest thing of all for Speedy. It was just like being back on drugs: he didn't want to, but he had to. Blood told him to fight, and he fought. Blood told the Titans to hurt Cyborg, and they did.

_Its like being on drugs again. I have no choice in the matter. My body isn't listening to my conscience at all. Its hopeless. Not even the other Titans can save us now._

He told them they had no friends, and they listened upon command. Now, with their arms and legs bound to the metal plates of the upright tables, they were lying there helplessly as Blood raved about his plan to make his new students into imitations of Cyborg.

"As Socrates once said, 'If you can't beat them, join them'," Blood drawled out. He drifted past the locked up members of Titans East, their eyes frozen into red orbs and their faces cold as steel."Oh, what an exciting time this will be for all of you," he added with a cruel smile.

Brother Blood held up a razor sharp scalpel. Titans East did not budge and inch. "True, not all of you will survive the experimental phase. ."

_What experimental phase? _Speedy thought to himself. He didn't like the sound of that at all.

"An excellent question, Roy," Blood laughed out loud. He snapped his fingers just as a wrinkly pale looking old man in a jumpsuit came in, wheeling a cart full of menacing looking mechanical objects. His eyes as well were also red, indicating that he too was under the hypnotic power.

"Those of you that develop resistance like Cyborg will be deactivated and studied," Blood warned in a nasty tone of gleeful delight. He pulled a sheet off the cart revealing various gadgets and wires. "But I doubt you will all be that foolish. Once the process is finished, you will all be unstoppable."

"And you will _never _break free from my control," he added softly. "Ever again."

Speedy heard a faint moaning from the room. He couldn't so much as flick his eyes, but his ears heard Bumblebee straining to resist as well.

"No, you cant. ." he heard her voice plead faintly.

_I don't give Karen enough credit. She's really got guts, that girl. Enough to bail an old boyfriend out of trouble, and enough to stand up to this monster._

"I'm sorry, what was that, my dear?" Blood drawled out. His eyes flashed and Bumblebee's own orbs flickered red as well, driving out the intolerance.

"Nothing Headmaster," she said in her controlled voice.

The lights overhead began to flash red, announcing the arrival of intruders. Speedy knew this could only mean one thing, and it would indicate the approach of a certain threat to his friends.

_Robin, you shouldn't have come. I can face you in a game, but I could never face you on the battle field._

This was exactly what Brother Blood was hoping for: to see the Titans unity be imploding from the inside out. The only way to do that was to take them apart, one by one, and make the teens fight each until hatred would pull them down and into his hands.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take care of them, my children."

"_Yes, Headmaster_," five voices said in a hypnotic voice of obedience. The shackles on their bodies opened up and the Titans East went in pursue of their new adversaries.

A-A-A

How long had Blood kept them going? It seemed like an eternity to Speedy. Bumblebee was pursing a very reluctant Starfire who was still fighting like a warrior, but kept apologizing for every blasting starbolt that she thrust at the winged girl.

Speedy realized that his body was acting of its own accord, but even better than before. And he could still hear Blood's voice taunting in his head as he leaped all over the room, dodging Robin's batterangs and firing arrows at his former friend.

"Don't you see, Roy? I'm giving you exactly what you wanted: to be even better than Robin. Now you have the chance to squelch his inflated dreams," he cackled inside of Speedy's head.

Robin's bo staff collided with the bow but this time, it did not snap. Speedy thrust the tip upward, causing Robin's head to jerk back painfully. His arms moved like lighting and allowed the sonic blaster arrow to land at Robin's feet perfectly. A loud bang exploded, making the tiles rip up under his feet. Robin had fallen back against the wall and now, his leg was nailed down under a heavy pile of metal cans.

"Speedy, stop! I'm you're friend," Robin begged. He tugged at his leg in vain.

"I don't need friends."

"Robin!" Starfire cried from overhead. She wanted to fly down, but Bumblebee's blasts kept the alien girl fluttering in the air away from her attacker. Bee was going after her like a pursued hawk.

Speedy walked up to Robin. His mind-controlled body pointed an arrow at Robin, aiming directly at his heart. _Robin, I don't want to kill you! _The voice was beating back madly.

"Excellent, Speedy. You're finally listening to your innermost instinct," Brother Blood said. "Now finish him off! I wouldn't have anyone else do it. Not even Cyborg gets the privilege that I specifically bestowed onto you."

Beads of sweat began to stain Speedy's forehead and run down his face. His teeth were locked tightly together in a fierce snarl, the bow quivering slightly in his tense arms. His mind was still listening to the command, but his body hadn't yet bowed to it.

For a fleeting moment, something swift and bright had pierced the darkness. Just like an arrow. Speedy felt it inside and clung to the sharp thought, subduing Brother Blood's orders and his robot-like body.

_It's never too late to turn back. I learned the hard way but I'll never go back to that life again._

His index finger was now shaking as it held the arrow back tightly against his bow. His body was bracing to release the arrow.

"Destroy false lying scheming leader of the Titans!" commanded Brother Blood.

"Roy! I trust you!" Robin yelled at the top of his lungs.

Trying to drive back the taunting words of Brother Blood, Speedy's temples were throbbing from the mind control. His head was reeling in agony. Starfire watched Speedy's jaw unclench and he released his arrow. Unable to look, she closed her eyes and screamed, "ROBIN!"

**_ZANG_**!

There was an explosion and a bust of gray smoke in the air. When it cleared, she saw the arrow had struck off target. Speedy had blasted apart some of the laser cannons that were some yards off. Robin was still on the ground and breathing hard.

The archer had dropped his bow and was on his knees, writhing in pain. He pressed his balled-up fists against his head, fighting Brother Blood as hard as he could.

"Insolent boy! How dare you do that, after all the effort I put in for you."

_You're a lousy mentor _Speedy thought back. _You just want your students to do your bidding. You don't deserve to run a school and you'll never be a real teacher-or my teacher **ever**. That's my choice._

"There IS no such thing as a choice," Brother Blood hissed in his head. "Fate rules us all, Roy Harper. You know that more than anyone. Prepare for your final examination!"

_BOOM_!

The relief was short lived by the sound of a sonic explosion. They were all being projected into the air and onto the roof. Brother Blood was standing there across from Cyborg. The half-metal teen gasped to see all of his friend suspended in the air with Brother Blood's red aura keeping them immobilized in place.

"You know, my dear children, I really don't want to have to destroy you," Brother Blood said with a mock look of sadness on his face.

"You Titans are all brilliant, to tell the truth. In my entire career with the HIVE, never have I seen such enthusiastic creative energy. I congratulate you all, every one of you."

"Let 'em go," Cyborg begged, panting as he was on one knee. "Its me that you want, Blood,"

Speedy's entire body was stiff as a wooden doll and he strained to turn his head to the right, despite the intense pain that was shooting up his neck.

Brother Blood must have sense the resistance because he glanced at Speedy locked into the slave-like state.

"Well, in time you will all come to know the meaning of respect and authority. That is why all teenagers must be taught a lesson. You have no respect for anyone older or more experience than yourselves."

"Not true," Robin was struggling to say between his teeth. Brother Blood flicked a finger and made his lips zip up automatically.

"Is anyone next?" he smirked. "If not, I'd like to finish today's lesson."

His hand began to glow red and as he created a ball of glowing blood colored light, his eyes flashed cruelly. "And here it is: you have no choice!". His voice rang out with maniac laughter.

Speedy realized Brother Blood would seal their fate in a matter of seconds. _We are all going to die_.

Blood thrust a finger into the ground and the concrete started to smash itself up into fractured chunks of flaming rock. Cyborg attacked by with a flick of his hand, Blood had sliced off the teenager's metal arm. Speedy heard Cyborg's voice boom out and there was a sickening sound to hear the joint fall to the ground with a _clunk._

Blood continued to laugh out loud and lunge right and left, slicing off another arm and Cyborg's leg. The rest of the Titans could do nothing but gaze down and see their friend suffering a slow and painful death.

Finally, the injured Cyborg was on his knees, panting and sweating before Blood. "Tell me, Cyborg," the Headmaster murmured as he grabbed the metal man and held his body up in the air. "What _is _it about you that makes you so stubborn? What lurks in those wires and bolts to keep your system-and your team-resist me!" he cried out.

"Its not _in_ the machine," Cyborg said at last. Suddenly, voice sounded surprisingly stronger and more assertive. His head was lifted up and a strange smile of delight was on his face. Slowly, his entire body was started to glow with new shining blue light.

"What!" Blood sputtered.

"_It's in the spirit!_" Cyborg shouted at him.

There was a crackling sound followed by a deep grumbling blast like that of an earthquake. Blood's right hand was beginning to deteriorate from the mere contact of Cyborg's own aura. "I don't need you to make me a man, I already am one!" he yelled to the crumbling teacher.

_Yeah, you tell him, Cyborg._

"What? No!" the criminal teacher howled out, fumbling to re-gather his power. But it was too late: the bolts and nuts from his motorized arms and legs were popping out and causing his body parts to collapse on him. It was now his own turn to cry out in agony when his limbs dissolved into nothing and his unconscious body fell down, totally devoid of any more power.

The ring of power that had been sucking out the Titans was suddenly repelled and their bodies were released from the control. One by one, they all fell on faces. Speedy felt a cool swift wind on his skin and took deep breaths of the air. It felt good to be back in control of himself again.

_"We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are."_

_-Tobias Wolff_


	4. Winner Gives All

"Take off your mask."

He did as Raven instructed him. Then he felt cool fingers press ever-so-lightly against his eyelids and temples.

"This shouldn't hurt much. _Azareth, Metreon, Zynthos_."

He could sense Raven's aura filtering into his injured head. It was soft and kind, it spoke to him with words of healing and friendship. The calming mental aura swept through him like gentle ripples of water and he let his thoughts bath and saturate in it. Then before he knew it, Raven had removed her hands from his head.

"How do you feel?"

Speedy pulled the mask back on before blinking twice in her direction.

"A whole lot better now. Thanks," he said gratefully,

"You're welcome. Just remember your eyes need another day or two to fully recover. Don't strain them."

"No problem. I can practice blindfolded".

Starfire drifted from one patient to another as she helped Raven attend to their friends in the infirmary.

"Robin, you are not too injured?" Starfire asked, bending over Robin. He was lying in the bed next to Speedy with a strained look on his face.

"I told you, Starfire. I'm fine, really. It's just a bruise on the knee, nothing more than the usual. I'll be up and about in no time."

Speedy was fully amused to watch Robin try to get out of bed while Starfire kept persisting that he was bedbound. But she finally left them long enough to go heat up some supper.

"I shall fetch the balls of meat and boiled string for all of us!" With a flutter into the air, Stafire was gone.

Robin fell back onto his pillows and looked at Speedy. Pause. Silence

"Balls of meat?" They both cracked up.

Finally, Robin got his breath back. "So . . . think you want to stick around Steel City?"

"Why not? If I can live through Brother Blood's crazy speeches then I'm ready for anything."

Robin was relieved. "Good. Because if you didn't think it was a good idea I was going to ask Bee to disband Titans East".

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Robin went on. "Steel City looks better in the spring but you'll have to ride out the winter for now. They've got a great indoor public gym and even a rehab center."

Speedy's fist slammed into the bedside table causing the spoons and medicine bottles to rattle harshly. He was mortified. Robin realized what he had just confessed. In a lower voice he said, "I just found out while doing a background check on you. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"That's not the point," Speedy snapped. He forced himself off the infirmary bed. "You keep playing detective like that and it'll tear these teams apart. How on earth can I trust you when you've got my number one secret hidding under your cap and waiting to go off like a ticking time bomb?"

"Because I'm not going to tell anyone. Ever," Robin said firmly. "Not without your permission."

Speedy hesitated. "What about Bee?"

"She can threaten to quit the team. But I won't tell her."

"What about _your _team?"

"That's not for them to know."

"What about Batman?"

"It's not his business either."

Speedy give a snort of resentment. "Y'know, for a minute there I thought you were acting just like him."

Now it was Robin's turn looked somewhat annoyed.

"Do you know how much I hate hearing that?" he snapped sharply. "Why else would I be working so hard on being a Titan? It's because I don't want to end up on the same grim dark path. I've got to find my own way in the world."

Robin rolled one of his arms back and forth, testing his muscle.

"Starfire says I work too hard and she's probably right. I'm always sizing myself up, getting caught up in my own plans. It's tough when everyone is counting on you."

Speedy was ashamed of himself. "I guess I never saw your side of the story." He watched Robin turn over the little eagle in his fingers, mulling over his thoughts.

"Mind if I give this back?"

"No problem."

"So...are we cool?"

"Frosty."

They tapped fists against each other.

A—A—A

Cyborg pointed to Bumblebee. ""You guys already have a good leader. You've just got to hear what she has to say.".

Speedy and Aqualad glanced at each other before looking back at Cyborg.,

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Positive. Its been fun, guys. But I already have my own team." He slapped them each a high five.

"Um, where are Mas and Menos?" Aqualad asked.

Speedy pointed to a cloud of dust that was being kicked up from the ground. The two pintsized boys were snarling and shouting as they fought each other while a puzzled looking Starfire looked on.

"Hey, dudes!" Beast Boy yelled from the T-Ship. "Road trip!'

Starfire floated over their heads and got into the ship. Raven and Cyborg climbed into the T-car and Robin got on the R-bike.

"And you ever need us. . ." he started to say.

Speedy pulled out his communicator. "You know where to reach us," he finished up.

The Titans' vehicles soared off onto the land and sky, the sun winking brightly as they speed back to Jump City.

_Ten minutes later. . . _

"All right, team. Listen up!" Bumblebee snapped her fingers for attention around the T shaped table. Four boys looked at her nervously. From the sound of her voice, Bee sounded like she was ready for boot camp.

"We just had our first victory at Titans East. We fought well, Titans. We did good. But that's not enough at all. We've got to prove that we're _really _Titans, to the core."

Speedy did not like where this was going.

"So guess what we're going to do for the rest of the day," Bumblebee announced.

Aqualad and Speedy looked at each other, their eyebrows twitching irritably.

"Pushups?"

"Laps?"

Mas and Menos suddenly zoomed out and popped back brandishing large brightly colored hats and plates of hot brimming enchiladas.

"FIESTA!" they shouted in unison.

Bumblebee aimed a remote at the disco ball and it began to rotate. A cheerful song was heard blasting all over the room along with the shifting colored lights.

Aqualad's mouth fell open. "Aha."

"Knock it off, you two," Bumblebee laughed. "If there's one thing I've learned, its that we've got to chill at the end of the day. So come on, lets party."

She motioned to the dance floor right below the disco ball. Bee began to move and twist to the rhythm with the sparkling lights of the multicolored mirrored sphere shining off of her skin.

"Now don't tell me you two showoff pretty boys are afraid of a little _dancing_," she teased them. The ebony haired boy relaxed at once from her words and smiled with delight.

"All right!" Aqualad laughed, thrilled at the change in manner. "You coming, Speedy?"

He dropped his weapons and got onto the dance floor with his teammates. The Titans East partied all night long.

A-A-A

_Fast forward to present._

"I know you can bend a couple of rules now and then but jeez Robin. The guy really had you under his thumb. I hate to admit the truth but can't blame him for wanting a top class fighter by his side."

Speedy had left the Comet just two blocks away. Now he sprinted up the rickety stairs of the fire escape before climbing into an abandoned building. Talking aloud felt good when there was no one to talk back.

"And we both know I'd be a lousy apprentice. Sure, I could break into a power plant and hurt dozens of guards. But I'd do it for the girls. And the attention. And my hair would have to be just right. There's no way I'd put on a uniform that's so ugly it would-"

"Would you care to be _my_ apprentice?" A soft fluid voice flitted past Speedy. He stopped in his tracks, straining to hear where the voice came from.

Moonlight darted around the room throwing shadows along the walls. Out of the corner of his eye, Speedy saw something dark from one corner to another.

"Depends on what perks you're offering."

The moving person finally stopped and stepped closer into the moonlight. "The very best offers, Royal." A booted foot aimed for his face. He grabed the attacker by the ankle. A female voice yelled out a battle cry and she kicked off his grip.

"HA!" She landed crouching on the ground, dark hair falling across her face. She stood up slowly, allowing Speedy to drink her in. A green fighting tunic came mid-thigh, leaving much imagination to the rest of her legs. The face was concealed by a painted mask of smirking cat's eyes and a vicious wide grin.

"Cheshire," Speedy named her.

Her hands came to her waist. Speedy did the same and prepared to pull out an arrow. Twin blades had been snatched out of her belt and were heading for him. Speedy ducked one way and another to block the weapons as he quickly went into defense mode.

In no time at all, Speedy was pinned up against the wall. Cheshire had both daggers crossed into an X shape with his throat trapped between the blades. She could have easily scissored him in half but merely giggled like a schoolgirl. Chesire pushed the mask off her face revealing her beautiful but dangerous features.

"Fair in love and war. Now your mask comes off too." She peeled the black fabric off his face and tossed it aside.

"You look well, Roy." One finger lazily traced circles across his chest. "Where have you been all this time?"

He leaned his head closer until his mouth was just against her ear. "Only time can tell."

Cheshire dropped the daggers and forced him back against the wall. Hands cupped his face, carressed them, then pulled him to her. Cheshire kissed Speedy, long and full, a deep moan of satisfaction escaping her throat.

Speedy accepted the message and responded, allowing his mouth to follow hers in the kiss. His hands had drifted down to her slim waist and wrapped around them in a secure grip. He felt long fingers slid around the back of his neck, lightly running through his hair. Prickles of energy popped out on the surface of his skin. The fingers trailed just behind his ear-and then he felt the sharp prick on his neck.

Speedy broke the kiss and staggered backwards. He clamped a hand to his neck.

Chesire wagged a finger at him. The sharp tip of her ring glittered maliciously in his direction.

Speedy felt his senses fogging up. His head reeled heavily with the drug's effect. Chesire was getting blurry in front of his eyes. He would've fallen flat on his face if she hadn't steadied his wobbling legs.

"You lose, my love."

The last thing he was aware of was Cheshire pulling him close to her, allowing his head to fall against her shoulder. There was a soft laugh, a whisper murmured in the darkness. Darkness blanketed him, thick and still as the night.

A-A-A

He woke up in a bright airy penthouse, his body supported by a magnificent four-poster bed and wrapped in silk sheets. Cheshire was very specific in her tastes and he wasn't one to complain about her lifestyle. The private home glittered with elegance and power from the thick carpeting to the crystal chantileer.

Cheshire was sitting up on one side of the bed pouring coffee. She wore a morning robe of green silk that enhanced her features and matched her eyes. "I hope you slept well."

He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Well enough for a guy who got knocked out by his rival."

"Said by a man who accepts defeat with pride." Chesire spooned sugar into his cup and stirred with the perfect poise and charm as any hostess. Looking at her, you'd assume Cheshire entertained ambassadors every day instead of taking contracts to annihilate them.

She handed Speedy the cup. "Don't worry. I haven't poisoned it."

He knew her well enough to know this was the truth. Speedy sipped his coffee thoughtfully while Cheshire cupped her face in her hands and watched him with fascination. With her experience and prowlness, it should have been easy enough to do away with the brash young man who had violated her personal code of honor.

That was some time ago. And while Speedy knew he had been given orders to arrest Cheshire the assassin and turn her over to the authorities, he had also let her slip through the net.

Neither had been successful in their mission.

He had spared her life and it puzzled Chesire. Almost fascinated her. The Agile Archer was not like other men she knew. He was positively vibrant, just glowing with a passion that was so similar her own. There was not a time when she didn't feel something stir in her bosom from watching him plunge into action.

Cheshire stretched back out across the bed and looked directly at him. They would have started to kiss again had a musical sound not snapped snapping Speedy back into reality.

"Dum da da da dum dum dum DA DUM!"

_Damn. My ass is ringing._

He rolled off the bed and clumsily fell onto the carpeted floor. Cheshire rolled over to see who dared to violate her personal time with her cherished one.

Speedy pulled the communicator out from his back pants pocket and flipped the lid open.

"Bee thought you might have been in danger," were the first words that Aqualad said in a crackle of static. "She's had me swimming up the river in case they dumped your body there."

"Really? Nice to know I've been missed."

"You'd better get here soon with a decent explanation to her."

"All right. I'll be there in an hour."

He flipped the lid shut and immediately reached for his boots at the foot of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Cheshire demanded.

"I'm going. My team just called and I have to report back," he said.

"No, you don't," Cheshire insisted in a firm tone. She slid off the bed and landed next to him on the soft carpeting. Her dark eyebrows were turned down in a frown and the once charming smile was starting to pull back into what he'd recognize as a snarl.

"Don't start that with me now," he warned her impatiently. "You can't wind me around your little finger again."

"Can't I?"

He had gotten to his feet but Cheshire had simply reacted with an easy leg sweep across the ground, knocking Speedy's legs out from under him and back down next to her.

She tried to reach for his face but Speedy grabbed her by the wrist. "All right, enough with the games. Just tell me what you want this time."

Cheshire sat back up on her heels. She pushed a heavy tent of dark hair off one shoulder. "I want you to come back to Asia with me. You would be a king of everything."

Seeing his hesitation, the young woman softened her voice into sweetness and roses. "You have no one else but me," she purred softly.

The fabric of her robe had slipped off her right shoulder revealing coffee-colored skin that was aching to be touched.

"Not anymore. I've changed."

Her face twisted into a scowl and Speedy was slightly amused to find that it was jealousy.

"You're in love with another woman," she insisted.

"No, there's no one else," he admitted.

Was it really so hard to cross over? He himself had been on that side before. Speedy was known for being one of the "bad guys" in his earlier time. No, maybe he'd just act up to be a bad guy, but never truly intend to be one.

"I can't, Cheshire," he insisted. "I've got a team now."

She merely tapped his mouth with a finger. "I need you more than they do. We understand each other, Royal," she murmured as she gazed into his eyes. "We are so much like."

Her honeyed words were so tempting, so enticing, he hardly realized thh communictor had fallen from his fingers and clattered to the ground. Cheshire noticed this and took both his hands into hers. "Come with me. Come away."

A command and yet, a wish. A plea to be heard and understood. He felt himself being tugged in two different directions, between duty and desires. This was going to be a difficult choice but there was no other way.

Speedy gently but firmly took Cheshire's wrists and pulled them down from his face.

"I am part of a team now. If I go with you, I betray them."

"Everyone's a traitor, Royal," she said acidly. "They'll turn their backs on you soon enough." She stretched out her arms to him, beckoning for Speedy to come lie in her embrace. "Come to me, I'll keep you from the shame, I'll hide you from the pain," her voice crooned.

This was a mistake on Cheshire's behalf. He got to his feet and shook his head at her.

"I can't give you what you want, Cheshire. I'm sorry."

"That is your final decision?"

"Yes. I'm staying here. If you leave the country, I'm not following you."

Without even looking at him, she ruthlessly tossed him his shirt and weapons. The young woman brushed a lock of ebony hair out of her eyes and folded her hands over her chest.

"You could have been so much more," Cheshire's disappointed voice. She fingered his mask for a moment. After gazing at the black fabric longingly, Cheshire threw it at his feet with a look of contempt on her face.

"I could have been so much less," he said quietly, bending down and picking up the mask. Speedy slipped on his shirt and slung the quiver of arrows over his shoulder. He pressed the fabric to his face and his eyes were concealed once again. Without so much as another word, he left.

A-A-A

"Friends, you have been deprived of waffles!" Starfire nearly wailed out loud. Bumblebee watched the alien throw her head into every possible open cabinet and begin to toss pots and pans out right and left. One by one, the cooking utensils landed on the floor with loud banging sounds.

"We never got around to buying a waffle iron," Bumblebee said. "Look Star, its sweet of you to worry, but we're not starving."

"How can you say that?" Cyborg called from over his shoulder. "A life without waffles is a life that's-that's," he paused, wondering what to say.

"It sucks," Beast Boy concluded.

"Yeah! A life without waffles sucks," Cyborg concluded. He lifted the frying pan off the stove and tipped a mountain of hot scrambled eggs onto a plate.

"How inspirational," Raven commented from the kitchen table. The dark haired witch was quite comfortable already with her traditional cup of tea and a good book.

"We make pancakes a lot, and Mas and Menos like blueberries," Aqualad offered. He gasped when he saw what Bumblebee was doing for breakfast.

"No! Please, you can't," he begged.

"I can and I will," she said firmly. The girl smeared cream cheese all over her bagel and took a large bite of the lox sandwich. "Mmmmm," Bumblebee hummed pleasantly.

"Oh, if the people of Atlantis could see you now," he groaned with his hands to his head. Bee just laughed and poured out some juice. "So what kind of sausages do you guys want?"

"Pork links!"

"Soy patties!"

"Pork links!"

"Soy patties!"

Cyborg and Beast Boy were eye to eye, glaring at each other and brandishing large kitchen spoons. Apparently, no one was willing to back down on the heated debate over breakfast.

"Please, friends," Starfire begged. "We are guests at the Titans East house for now. We must mend your dispute at once, it is most impolite."

"Agreed. Just decide on something to make already," Raven said tensely from the table.

"We're making soy patties. You got pepperoni pizza last time," Beast Boy said.

"So what! You got to play the new _Kombat Crasher_ game before anyone else," Cyborg shot back.

"So!"

"So, that means I get dibs on making breakfast. And its going to be pork links."

Bumblebee threw up her hands in frustration. "Isn't there any kind of food that you two will agree on?"

"How about custard crème, jelly filled, and chocolate sprinkles?" suggested a voice in the doorway.

Everyone stopped the chaotic breakfast scene and turned their heads.

Speedy was leaning against the doorway with a few large white boxes balanced in his arms. His usual smile was there on his face as much as his mask.

"SENIOR SPEEDY!"

_VROOOM!_

The teenager was barreled to the ground by a hurricane of red and white. The two pint sized superheroes fell on top of him and each proceeded to hug him as tightly as possible. Speedy gasped for air against the affectionate appreciation of Mas and Menos. He lifted his head up to see Cyborg and Beast Boy widen their eyes when they saw the boxes.

"DOUGNUTS!"

_WHOOOOSH!_

"Boo-yeah!"

"Sweet!"

They each began wolfing down the sugary pastries like there was no tomorrow. Beast Boy had crammed nearly an entire doughnut into his mouth when he saw Raven giving him a sharp look.

"Ooof. Fanks, Shpeedy," he mumbled through a thick mouth of chocolate crème and vanilla puff.

"Yeah, thanks," Cyborg said with two donuts in his hands.

"Speedy! Good morning," Starfire beamed at him. "How kind of you to get us the delicious tire shaped treats this morning."

"How nice to see everyone here," he said, balancing the other boxes. The nicety nice was short lived when his team leader flew into the air and stuck her face right into his own.

"Where have you been?" Bumblebee shouted, floating around Speedy with her wings fluttering like crazy. She sounded mad as a hornet.

"First I go into Mas and Menos' room to check on them, and they're not there. I'm worried they've been captured or hurt so Aqualad and I search the tower. THEN we see that they're safe asleep in your bed. . . so where WERE YOU?" she shrieked into his face.

"Bludhaven. I pulled into a hotel for the rest of the night," he stated simply.

"Really?" Bee demanded, her brown eyes narrowed keenly into his face.

"Really," he said coolly.

"Can someone take this off of me?" he asked, raising another large white box.

_SHOOOM!_

The box was whisked out of his hands and placed onto the table. Beast Boy pried it open and looked inside.

"Apple pie."

"Yeah. I got it on the house after saving a convenience store from a holdup. Is that all right?"

"Yes, it's definitely all right." Beast Boy began to cut lovingly generous slices of pie and hand them out.

"How suitable for breakfast," was Raven's sarcastic reply."

"What? Its got fruit, its got eggs, its got flour in it. What's so unhealthy?" he demanded.

Bee wouldn't let Mas or Menos eat a bite of pie until they had drank all their milk.

"_Oooo, Éstas son manzanas," _Menos said quite pleased with breakfast. "Apples."

"Dude, you learned something!" Beast Boy looked quite proud of himself. "I taught them some English from watching cartoons," he announced to Bumblebee.

"Oh really?" Bee leaned forward and looked at the twins, quite impressed at the news. "_¿Qué usted dos ha aprendido?" _she asked.

Mas looked at Menos.

"_¿Listo?"_ asked one pint sized Titan.

"_¡Listo!"_ his brother grinned back wickedly.

They each took a deep breath and yelled out something:

"BOOGERS!" they screamed out loud.

Bee looked stunned but the twins fell on the ground, laughing hysterically and grabbing their sides.

"Boogers. You taught them to say 'boogers,'", she said glaring at Beast Boy. He blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Boogers boogers boogers!" the twins sang over and over again, running around the room and laughing.

Aqualad's face looked a little green and he put down his fork. "I think I've lost my appetite," he said as he pushed his stack of pancakes to Speedy.

"Guys, can you say anything else?" Beast Boy pleaded.

"BUTT CHEEKS!"

"Butt cheeks! Butt cheeks!" they babbled on together.

"Strike two," Bee said with gritted teeth.

Beast Boy was beginning to sweat.

"COWABUNGA!" Mas screamed

"COWABUNGA!" Menos yelled back.

They slapped each other high fives.

"That does it! No more morning cartoons for you two," Bumblebee said out loud. But the twins looked so hysterical on the floor that her faint snickering slowly grew until everyone else was cracking up with laughter.

"Hey Speedy, what're your plans for Tuesday night?" Aqualad nudged him in the ribs.

"Um, nothing really," he said. "Why? What's Tuesday night?"

The laughter and noise dropped into dead silence. Speedy felt everyone's eyes bearing into him like bullets.

"Dude, its Valentine's Day!" Beast Boy yelled, waving his hands up and down madly.

"Yeah, Bee and I are checking out the Gotham Dance Club," Cyborg said.

Speedy's face fell and he glanced downward. "Oh. I guess I forgot."

"Forgot? You're the one that always turns at a pretty face," Aqualad chided him. "Maybe you were too busy fixing up your hair to check the calendar."

"Doesn't matter. Aqua dude and I are gonna take Raven to a wicked cool laser show," Beast Boy announced. "You got any plans, Speedster?"

"Actually, no," he said simply. They all gawked and stared at him as if he was speaking Martian.

"But Speedy, the day of Valentines' is for sharing with loved ones," Starfire insisted. She cocked her head to one side, floating a few inches off the floor. "Do you not have someone to share the affectionate day with?"

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Its. . um. . . complicated," he stammered. "Pretty complicated."

Everyone else began to chat about their plans, but Speedy took the chance to gather up some things and leave the busy kitchen. For now, he knew that there was one person he'd feel better talking to.

A-A-A

Speedy found Robin working alone in the main control room.

"What are you doing?" Speedy asked, setting a plate of breakfast food next to Robin. He glanced over Robin's shoulder. The drawing revealed a costumed figure in shoulder length hair and had the insignia of a bird spread across his chest. Robin was sketching in the mask and the person's boots at that moment.

"Its just fooling around, really. Something about a legend of Kryton." Robin shut his folder.

Speedy propped his feet up on the table. "Who's idea was it to do brunch here anyhow?"

"Beast Boy decided to fix the toilet after Starfire dumped in too much toilet paper and washing detergent."

Speedy groaned and slapped his forehead.

"Right. So now, our Tower smells somewhat like alligators. We decided to crash here," Robin said. He eyed Speedy. "So, is she someone that we know?"

Speedy coughed and tried not to orange juice all over himself. "Um, I'm not sure what you mean, Rob."

"I do." Robin reached over and removed something from the archer's right shoulder. Looking closer, Speedy saw what it was between Robin's gloved fingers: a strand of wavy black hair. His face scrunched up.

"And you usually don't use rose oil as after shave," Robin added.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I, Sherlock Holmes?"

"Elementary, Watson. I've seen it before."

"All right, Robin. This isn't your every day girl I'm talking about. She tells me that she's the enemy in the game. But she saved my life."

"Are you sure that she can't change?" Robin asked slowly.

"She wants _me _to change," Speedy explained. "I can be something of a bad boy but I'm not a bad person. I don't _want _to be like her."

"You're a hero, just like us," Robin complimented. But Speedy only shook his head with a frustrated look.

"Sorry, but I'm not all like you. I can't just write her off when she means too much to me. Sometimes I think she wants me dead, at other times I've got to stay alive in case I can make a difference to her."

"Sounds like you care a lot about her."

"Yeah. But you're the dectective so tell me how a woman's mind works."

"Even I can't understand that."

"Oh come, I'm sure not even YOU just read about the quantum-entanglement problem all day!"

Robin managed a laugh at that one. "You're doing all right, Speedy. If you've got right attitude maybe you can make a difference to this girl."

"Cross out the idea of sweeping her off her feet. She hates the rescuing types."

Robin held his chin with his index finger and thumb for a moment, lost in thought. "Tell her how you feel, in your own way."

"How? What do I do?" the archer pleaded with him, a frantic look on his face.

Robin just gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder.

"Like I said, you've done great until now. I'm sure you'll know what to do."

That encouragement made a light bulb click on over the red headed teen. Robin gathered up his papers and started to shuffle them. Then he asked Speedy:

"Hey, I'm just wondering. . . if you ever could change your image, what do you think you'd do?"

The Agile Archer raised an eyebrow and tilted his head up to the ceiling, lost in thought for a minute.

"Well, I think I'd like to drop the mask sooner or later. Maybe pick up some other weapons besides arrows."

"How about a new name?" Robin asked with deep interest. "If I was something like say...Nightwing...what'd you be?"

He rolled a word back and forth in his head before speaking.

"Call me crazy, but I like the name _Arsenal_."

A-A-A

_Next Tuesday night_

A fire crackled merrily at Cheshire's feet. She stuck out her legs to warm them against the biting February chill. Impatiently, she drummed her fingers on the marbled table and looked at the thick leather folder that lay in front of her.

This wasn't a hard deal at all. She had plenty of time and resources to get the job done. The price tag was fine too. Though she didn't need money, just excellent cost proved how good she was at her job.

Why didn't she take the contract?

What was she waiting for?

Cheshire got up and began to pace the floor impatiently. She could still hear his masculine voice in her ears, calm yet controlled. Neither cold nor fishy. Nothing but the truth as clear and plain as crystal.

"_I cant give you what you want, Cheshire. I'm sorry."_

What kind of a clan, or a team, would have that kind of power to break him off from her? She kept insisting that he must have been in love with someone else, that jealousy alone could feed her curious heart and eat away at like a snake.

Cheshire looked back at the folder. She had been hesitating and hoping that he would come back into her arms. Yet as the fire log licked away its tongues of red and gold, it was a warning that the embers were going to die away soon enough.

The young woman clenched her fists together tightly and brought them to her mouth, struggling to hold back the strange feeling inside. She took a deep breath to control her emotions, praying that her mask of pride and power would not betray herself.

_**THUNK!**_

She had flattened herself to the carpet just in time. The weapon had soared through the open window and landed embedded in the plastered wall. Cheshire's lips parted and she hissed out a curse. Obviously, one of her many enemies had decided to pay her a little visit.

Cheshire noticed that no one had come through that window, so she dared to lift up her head, followed by the rest of her body. No, the windows were open but there had been not a single strategic plan to assassinate her. Not tonight, anyway.

The arrow was still quivering from the speed of which it was shot. She recognized its trademark shape at once. Attached to the weapon was a bouquet of red roses. She managed to dislodge the arrow and the roses almost instantly fell into her arms. One dozen of them, to be exact, and brimming with crimson loveliness. Cheshire buried her face in the soft petals and breathed in the scent of summertime.

There was a note inside too. Cheshire pulled out the card and studied it carefully. In sharp boxy handwriting with black letters it said _Happy Valentines Day. _Two hearts looped together with an arrow through them completed the signature.

A very rare smile came across her face, a smile that was beautiful for the truth which had been found. She lovingly held the flowers close to her chest and gazed up at the moon that had just unmasked itself from a thick veil of clouds.

A-A-A

Speedy threw back his head and laughed, filling his lungs with fresh clean air and a smile on his face.

The Comet coming up the hill and over there; Titans East was shimmering in the pale moon light with its silver chrome finish. The cool bay waters lapped silently at the foot of the place. Inside, he could see warm friendly yellow lights in the windows to announce the anticipation of his return.

He was heading home.

_END_

_"The only way to have a friend is to be one."_

_-Ralph Waldo Emerson_


End file.
